Member - WaterScope

Problem Statement WaterScope actively addresses a pressing global need - ensuring access to safe, clean drinking water. Current estimates suggest that over 2 billion individuals worldwide lack access to safely managed drinking water services, leading to heightened exposure to waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid. These diseases predominantly impact vulnerable and marginalised communities, primarily within low to middle-income countries. According to a recent 2023 study by WHO, this global issue results in an alarming 1.4 million deaths annually and 74 million disability-adjusted life years. Regular testing is a crucial yet often overlooked part of the challenge to providing safe water. When deployed effectively testing enables: i) identification of contamination before it reaches people ii) quantification of the degree of contamination to inform an appropriate treatment response iii) provision of sustained trust and reliability in a water source. In short, water testing is the tool that enables a proactive rather than a reactive response to contamination, and ultimately reduces the risk of transmitting waterborne diseases. Solution Overview Our initiative offers a practical and viable solution to this global problem. We provide an easy-to-use, reliable, and affordable water testing system. This technology can empower communities, NGOs, governments, and other stakeholders to swiftly and accurately assess the microbial quality of their water sources. The immediate detection of contaminated water sources enables prompt and appropriate interventions, thereby drastically reducing the risk of waterborne diseases. WaterScope firmly positions itself at the forefront of innovation by merging advanced technological solutions with human-centred design principles. This unique approach ensures that while our system's core is powered by state-of-the-art technology and microbiological methods, the actual water testing process remains straightforward, intuitive, and user-friendly. WaterScope sets a benchmark for innovation in the following ways: User-Friendly Design: Our solution simplifies water testing to the point that anyone can conduct these tests anywhere. With an intuitive cartridge, video instructions, and machine learning analysis, WaterScope’s end-users can conduct laboratory-grade water tests in any remote location. Predictive Capabilities: Unlike our competitors, WaterScope can act as an early warning system. We have demonstrated through field tests that our system can predict the risk level of water contamination within just 8 hours, facilitating same-day interventions. Portability: The WaterScope system is contained within a briefcase-sized casing; light enough to be transported by hand, robust enough to withstand off-road driving, and compliant with airline travel rules (enabling enhanced readiness for emergency responses). This is a marked improvement over traditional lab-based methods which are bulky and challenging to transport. The portability of our system also minimises the carbon footprint associated with transporting bulky lab equipment. Sustainability: The innovative design of WaterScope takes sustainability into account. By using a reusable cartridge, our system generates less waste compared to lab-based methods, and requires less chemicals/processing steps than current field systems. Moreover, by enabling easier detection of contamination, WaterScope can facilitate prompt interventions, potentially reducing the need for costly and energy-intensive water boiling. Company overview WaterScope is a social enterprise established in 2015 at the University of Cambridge with the mission to enable global access to safe, clean drinking water. We are a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers based in the UK with an international network of partners. Our commitment lies in tackling the global water crisis through innovation, technology, and local empowerment. Through our team's dedication, creativity, and expertise, we have received numerous prizes and awards, including the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge 2021, Forbes 30 under 30, and the Cambridge University Entrepreneurs award, along with multiple grants and smaller competition victories. Overall, we have secured over £900k in non-dilutive funds to develop our product and support our mission. Solving water inequality is ultimately a huge challenge that requires increased access to water treatment, testing, sanitation infrastructure, education and healthcare. We believe our system can play a crucial role as a practical, timely, and cost-effective means to assess drinking water quality; and as part of the global response it holds immense potential to substantially improve the lives of millions of people worldwide.