The following blog post was written by Lindsay Thom and was published earlier this month on BCIC’s blog as part of a series profiling BCIC-NewVentures Competition: Regional Top 20 Finalists.
BC’s tap water is generally safe to drink and in ample supply, but outbreaks of water-borne diseases are always a possibility and do occasionally happen.
Rapid Water Testing Ltd., one of 20 finalists in the first annual BCIC-New Ventures Competition: Regional (BCIC-NVC: Regional), is developing an inexpensive portable biosensor for rapidly detecting harmful diarrheal parasites in finished drinking water before it reaches the public.
Rapid’s technology can inform water-treatment plant operators in hours, rather than days, about any parasites that have infiltrated their systems.
Kamloops-based Rapid unites an R&D team from UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering with Paul Johansen of Johansen Marketing Consulting Ltd. to address the global need for safe drinking water.
To win the competition, Rapid’s team must convince the BCIC-NVC: Regional jury that their business idea is commercially viable.
BCIC-NVC: Regional winners will be announced on Thursday, February 24, 2011 in Kelowna.