Two project teams from NTU bagged S$4 million research funds from Environment and Water Industry Development Council (EWI) to develop a prototype device that can detect the parasite within an hour. The teams were responding to an EWI challenge issued last October to come up with faster methods for detecting microorganisms found water. The project team led by Assoc Prof Thomas Gong involves developing a portable microbial detection laboratory - no bigger than the size of a laptop. The system uses an innovative filtration method to trap live oocysts, following which the sample can be detected using genetic based testing. While Assoc Prof Liu Ai Qun’s team proposed a biophotonic chip device, that uses laser technology to detect a single parasitic cell within a body of water up to 10 litres.