#886: Dr Linda Pilarski: Rapid Test Fits On A Loonie

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Dr Linda Pilarski has researched lab on a chip technology for many years.

Now as a professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, she has turned her attention from rapid tests for cancer to rapid tests for e.coli and other pathogens in food.

Her new device is being commercialized to reduce the cost and time of testing for meat packing plants.

DR LINDA PILARSKI:   It’s actually really small.  The business end of it all is possibly the size of a couple of postage stamps..  And the instrument is the size of a shoebox essentially, maybe a little bigger.  So it doesn’t take much bench space.  It doesn’t have a big footprint.  The other advantage in addition to speed, is that we can do multiple samples on  one run.  So that means you could have, for example, 7 to 10 of your meat samples being tested for multiple targets to make sure if and what kind of pathogen might be present in the meat or other food process, and get that very quickly.  Which I think no other technology can do with quite that degree of multitasking.  

According to Dr Linda Pilarski ,  the testing device looks at certain aspects of the pathogen’s DNA to determine if it’s toxic or not.

Thanks today to Alberta Innovates

 Learn more at Innovation Anthology.com.

 I’M CHERYL CROUCHER

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Alberta Innovates

Alberta Innovates is a provincially funded Corporation with a mandate to deliver 21st century solutions for the most compelling challenges facing Albertans. We do this by building on our province’s research and technology development strengths in the core sectors of health, environment, energy, food and fibre and platforms such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and omics. We are working with our partners to diversify Alberta’s economy, improve our environmental performance and enhance our well-being through research and innovation. 

The Alberta Innovates system has roots stretching back almost 90 years

In March, 2016 the consolidation of Alberta Innovates was announced and on November 1, a single, integrated innovation powerhouse, Alberta Innovates, was formed. Two applied research subsidiaries – Innotech Alberta and C-Fer Technologies –  serve public and private sector interests.

The Alberta Innovates system was first created in January 2010, as part of an overall innovation framework developed within the Alberta Research and Innovation Act. At that time, four corporations were established:

  • Bio Solutions
  • Energy and Environment Solutions
  • Health Solutions
  • Technology Futures.

The Alberta Innovates system has a 90-year legacy. Our expertise is built on the successes of:

  • Alberta Institute for Agriculture
  • Forestry and the Environment
  • Alberta Agricultural Research Institute
  • Alberta Forestry Research Institute
  • Alberta Life Sciences Institute
  • Alberta Ingenuity
  • Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research
  • Alberta Research Council
  • iCORE
  • nanoAlberta
  • Alberta Water Research Institute (AWRI)
  • Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI)
  • Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA).

 

Program Date: 2017-07-25