DeepVerge plc (LON:DVRG) said it has started deployment of its Microtox PD near-source wastewater contamination test equipment into water treatment plants in Ireland, with first shipments to China and the US expected by the end of the year.
The AIM-listed bacteria specialist said the Microtox PD until, which have been retrofitted with artificial intelligence (AI) based optofluidic pathogen identification scanners, are also being shipped to the University of Aberdeen CAT3 laboratory, adding to the ongoing trials with the live coronavirus, supplied by Public Health England.
READ: DeepVerge keen to play its part in detection of coronavirus in sewage
DeepVerge also said that it has agreed to license a patented breathalyser from PulMoBioMed, a spin-out technology company of Northumbria University, to capture coronavirus particles in breath condensate for the DeepVerge optofluidic breath test, known as Microtox BT.
The company said phase 3 field trials are expected to begin shortly at multiple sites in Northern England, where aggregated anonymised data will provide datasets for AI model simulations from human volunteers who will undergo coronavirus testing with a combination of Microtox BT, a lateral flow antigen test and an rt-PCR test.
Sufficient datasets are anticipated to be completed in early 2021.
"Phase 3 field trial testing is the last step to establish permanent anonymised mass surveillance of dangerous pathogens in wastewater, in real-time. The field trials will combine the deployment of Microtox PD wastewater units and daily testing of individual volunteers with a Microtox BT breathalyser test, a lateral flow test and a PCR test”, DeepVerge chief executive Gerard Brandon said in a statement.
“The data from these tests are expected to simultaneously identify the source of [coronavirus] cases, identify [coronavirus] clusters, and indicate the size of each cluster in real-time. As the data grows, AI will offer the potential to predict the trajectory of growth of future clusters of [coronavirus] or any future dangerous pathogen. As we progress towards commercialisation, PulMoBioMed's patented technology will enable a quick roll-out of our Microtox BT breath test once field trials have completed. We look forward to reporting the results in due course", the CEO added.