NEW technology to improve waterborne pathogens detection has been developed to enhance public water safety.
Scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh developed this improvement – the change saw the detection rate of monitoring systems more than double, going from the previous 30% industry standard to a 70% success rate.
A recent outbreak in Devon showed how serious illness and disruption can result from Cryptosporidium in the water supply.
Research has found that several thousand individual cases of illness due to Cryptosporidium occur in the UK every year, and the number is increasing.
Improved testing procedures will reduce the likelihood and severity of incidents, preventing disease and economic losses.
While this type of monitoring by water companies is routine, the Heriot-Watt team has taken a different approach, allowing them to achieve a significantly better performance – a 133% improvement – than the existing solution.
Professor Helen Bridle of the School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biophysics and Bioengineering, who led the project, said:
“People across the UK are very concerned about potential contamination in public water systems: incidents like the one in Devon show just how serious an impact they can have on people’s lives and livelihoods.
“Our system has achieved a very significant improvement in detection rates of harmful bugs in the water so that this technology will prevent illness and economic losses much more effectively in future.”
Now, they are setting up a spin-out company, Aquazoa, to market their system and expect to commercialise the product in early 2026. Aquazoa has already secured High-Growth Spinout Funding from Scottish Enterprise (SE).
Heriot-Watt University now has a pipeline of six active SE-funded projects, demonstrating its commitment to supporting high-impact, research-driven enterprises.
