CellCount, a revolutionary technology platform to solve current problems with microbiological contamination in water and food industries.

Project Information

CellCount

Grant agreement ID: 790113

DOI 10.3030/790113

Closed project

EC signature date 29 November 2017

Start date 1 November 2017

End date 28 February 2018

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost € 71 429,00

EU contribution € 50 000,00

Coordinated by

RQMICRO AG
Switzerland

Objective

Food- and water-borne illnesses are common and preventable public health issues. Hundreds of millions of samples are
tested each year to detect harmful bacteria in drinking and environmental water, food and beverages. Pathogens such as
Legionella, Pseudomonas, Giardia/Cryptosporidium, Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli (O157:H7), cause disease and
lead to enormous economic damage.
Events such as, the 2013 Legionella outbreak in Warstein, Germany, with over 185 cases of disease, or the Danish Listeria
outbreak of summer 2014, with 12 reported deaths and the shutting down of the meat producing company, painfully
demonstrated the limitations of current testing methodologies. Long testing time, and insufficient analytical quality in results
lead to unsuccessful countermeasures, spread of the disease, and waste of energy and biocides.
CellCount is a novel testing technology that delivers fully quantitative test results at an unmatched speed. CellCount
revolutionizes the pathogen detection market by combining various new technologies, already well-established in the
academic environment, and applying them to industrial applications. Due to its novel sample preparation and pathogen
detection technology, CellCount provides a quantitative pathogen detection result within one hour, compared to days to
weeks for other methods.

Fields of science

• medical and health sciences › clinical medicine › pneumology
• medical and health sciences › health sciences › public health
• natural sciences › biological sciences › microbiology › bacteriology
• social sciences › sociology › social issues › social inequalities
• engineering and technology › other engineering and technologies › food technology › food safety

Programme(s)

• H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy Main Programme
• H2020-EU.3.2.4. - Sustainable and competitive bio-based industries and supporting the development of a European bioeconomy
• H2020-EU.3.2.1. - Sustainable agriculture and forestry
• H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
• H2020-EU.3.2.2. - Sustainable and competitive agri-food sector for a safe and healthy diet

Topic(s)

• SMEInst-07-2016-2017 - Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for sustainable and competitive agriculture, forestry, agri-food and bio-based sectors

Call for proposal

H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017

Funding Scheme

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

Coordinator

RQMICRO AG

• Net EU contribution: € 50 000,00
• Address: Brandstrasse 24 ; 8952 Schlieren ; Switzerland
• SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes:
  Region
  Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera › Zürich › Zürich
• Region: Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera › Zürich › Zürich
• Activity type: Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
• Other funding: € 21 429,00