Rapid, portable, live bacterial cell detector

Cytecom is an innovative new spin-out company from the University of Warwick with technology that will revolutionise the process of testing products for bacteria. As a result of the ICURe program we were able to guide our scientific discovery process with new information from markets and businesses. This allowed us to identify a clear need for a fast reliable and accurate bacteria detector. Current (reliable) methods require 48-72 hours. This causes delays and uncertainty during manufacture of beverages, food and during medical evaluations. Our technology allows the detection and identification of live bacteria at the flick of a switch (less than one hour) without sacrificing accuracy. This is a dramatic improvement on existing technologies. This funding will allow us to take our laboratory prototype detector and make a version which is compact and can be deployed in the field, providing these unique capabilities to the people who keep our food and water safe and ultimately accelerating diagnostic processes for medical professionals.