Line 160: | Line 160: | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
</p> | </p> | ||
+ | |||
<div id="Evolution of Design" class="tabcontent"> | <div id="Evolution of Design" class="tabcontent"> | ||
<article> | <article> |
Revision as of 18:32, 29 October 2017
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/4/43/IntegHP.png)
We surveyed food vendors from Indonesia and Pakistan and individuals from our diverse student body, which represents 110 countries. From 68 responses, we gained the following insights:
- 78% of individuals have never heard of Shiga Toxin
- 47.5% of individuals were interested in acquiring equipment to detect Escherichia coli in food samples
- 54.2% of individuals were willing to wait 10 minutes to obtain a response from the equipment
- 23.7% of individuals were willing to wait up to 30 minutes to obtain a response from the equipment
- The average price individuals were willing to pay for such a device was $63.17 USD
2016 Team NYU Abu Dhabi predicted that their device would take up to 45 minutes to complete the reaction. We decided to optimize a reaction such that we could better target the expectations of our potential audience. In this regard, we decided to use the LAMP technique which provides results in 20 minutes.
As part of our design, we realized that deterrents to laboratory testing are not only limited to the length of time required to obtain results. In fact, it was partially due to the high cost of equipment. To address this issue, we aimed to reduce the cost of our device by designing a 3D printed case that houses a Peltier Module Cooler, a cheaper alternative to ITO heating and a more reliable, eco-friendly method than disposable heat packs. We also reduced the volume of our reaction, without sacrificing high sensitivity, to reduce the cost of biological reagents.
We have addressed the concerns brought up through these surveys to the best of our ability. Our final device cost is estimated to cost approximately $50-60 USD, and is in the price range suggested by surveyed individuals. Additionally, the reaction time of 20 minutes is a reasonable compromise considering that conventional pathogen detection techniques can take anywhere from hours to days to receive results.