Who is Biobot Analytics?
Founded at MIT, Biobot Analytics is the first wastewater epidemiology company that analyzes sewage with molecular technologies and AI to provide early warning of population health threats across the globe. Founded by a biologist and an architect, our team has exemplified the power of interdisciplinary collaboration from its beginning. Biobot is the leading platform for COVID-19 tracking in wastewater and is trusted by communities nationwide to give governments and businesses the tools they need to focus public health efforts and improve lives in the communities they serve.
Our insights are improving equity in community health – for good.
Wastewater is an inherently anonymous and inclusive data source, and populations that may be reluctant to report symptoms or get tested because of disease stigma are still counted via wastewater data.
Our wastewater testing services have been deployed since March 2020 and are trusted by hundreds of unique entities across the country. Here is how it works:
- Biobot ships sampling kits to participating locations, including:
- Three 50mL falcon tubes for samples
- Insulation and ice packs for temperature maintenance and sample integrity
- A pre-paid overnight return shipping label for expedited delivery.
- Your wastewater treatment facility or field engineers collect the wastewater sample into the provided falcon tubes, then safely package and return the sample to Biobot’s lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sample collection and shipping protocols are provided via email and noted within each kit.
- Biobot processes the sample, isolating the target material and analyzing the amount of target analyte present via qPCR.
- Biobot expediently analyzes the lab results and reports the presence of each target analyte within the catchment area.
- Data trends are used to make informed public health decisions.
What are Biobot’s methods?
Our approach relies on detecting genetic fragments of virus that are excreted in stool by qPCR analysis.
Viral particles are captured from 9.6mL of wastewater and are mixed with a lysate solution to release the viral material from the cells. 400uL of the resulting lysate are used for nucleic acid isolation, which is then subjected to one-step RT-qPCR analysis.
All samples are measured against a variety of laboratory controls and undergo a thorough data review process, where our data team reviews individual replicates of qPCR and timelines of SARS-CoV-2 and PMMoV concentrations; only results which pass all quality controls are reported.
A small fraction of samples undergo a re-run whereby a different 50 mL tube of sewage is used to confirm the initial results returned.
How does Biobot normalize for inflow and infiltration?
We normalize analyte concentration to a fecal strength indicator to account for differences in dilution or fecal content between samples. The fecal indicator we use is the pepper mild mottle virus (PMMV), an RNA virus that is commonly excreted in stool.