I started Save Woofie! when I discovered the dangers of blue-green algae on the news. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, poses a distinct danger to dogs who can be critical condition within 15 minutes of ingesting a single gulp of water containing the algae. With this knowledge, I formed a team of myself and 4 biomedical students to find a potential solution that can combat this issue.
After extensive research, we initially thought up a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ELISA test strip that would detect the three common types of cyanotoxins: anatoxin, microcystin, and cylindrospermopsin. Once this design was chosen, we pursued manufacturing methods based on cost and feasibility. During this part of the process, we hit a roadblock where these test strips would potentially be very expensive to produce and, thus, very expensive and less accessible to consumers.
With this in mind, we pivoted to a new design: a fluorescent microscope that could be attached to your phone. To prototype this new design, I 3D printed and assembled a fluorescent microscope that was used to confirm this method of detecting blue-green algae would work. Now having a direction for an inexpensive alternative to the ELISA test, I created a flowchart for a complimentary app that could be used with the microscope to detect cyanobacteria. This physical component (the fluorescent microscope) is called Buddy while the software component (the complimentary app) is called Spot.