Agritech Invention Wins $100k Challenge

University of Auckland researcher Liz Cunningham, who has lost cows to mastitis, a costly disease that sees udder tissue become inflamed, often due to bacteria, won the University of Auckland Velocity $100k Challenge with her start-up – QuickMas.

The Liggins Institute research technician and her teammates, academic staff from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, Faculty of Engineering and the Liggins Institute, say QuickMas is about helping in the fight against antibiotic resistance in dairy cattle.

Cunningham says QuickMas will show whether a cow has mastitis, help identify the pathogen causing it and determine whether the cow has responded to antibiotics.

“QuickMas will also be able to help farmers decide if their cow is safe to put back in the herd or if she may still be harbouring infectious bacteria.

“It will give dairy farmers answers about their cows’ mastitis in as little as 15 minutes and no more than an hour.”

The on-farm diagnostic tool, Cunningham says, is as simple as a Covid test, doesn’t require Wi-Fi, and farmers can self-interpret the results - no need to send them to a vet.

“It’s done using a milk sample, which is processed by our machine for five minutes before it’s added to our test cartridges. Farmers will then be able to identify the source of infection.

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“The current testing method on the market sees farmers have to wait at least 24 hours for a result. It also requires Wi-Fi, which a lot of milking sheds don’t have.”

Cunningham and her team are currently testing QuickMas prototypes.

“We worked really hard to develop something quick, reliable and fit for farms. We want QuickMas to add value to farmers’ businesses here and all over the world.

“Winning the Velocity challenge is amazing, and we’re excited to use the support provided to get this to market as quickly as we can to help dairy farmers and their cows.”

Cunningham says the QuickMas team will explore potential partnerships and seek external investment over the next six months, with the plan to have the product on the market in 2025.

“Using QuickMas will help the dairy industry in its fight against antibiotic resistance. Helping farmers understand the correct pathogen will enable them to treat their cows more efficiently. It will also inform treatment duration.

"Farmers will have the information to give each cow individualised and responsive treatment – undertreating or overtreating with antibiotics will be a thing of the past.”

Read about the other Velocity winners here. https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2024/10/17/innovating-until-the-cows-come-home.html

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