Salvus® Detection Platform
Detection where decisions get made
We’ve created a detection technology stack that is portable, adaptable and
quick. So you can make decisions faster where you need them without waiting on
centralized lab cycles.
Interferometry is at the core of our Salvus® Detection Platform. It uses a cartridge-based model that can be deployed through multiple form factors to address your
specific use case. One technology, capable of expanded detection through additional
pre-configured cartridges.
Platform components
Two components. One complete system.
Our Salvus Detection Platform combines an analyzer and cartridge system to provide rapid sample-to-result detection. The Salvus PRISM™ is the long-term instrument, purchased once, and the cartridges can be swapped out as detection targets evolve.
Salvus PRISM
The Portable Real-time Interferometric Sensing Module (PRISM) with integrated touchscreen display using proprietary technology developed over 20+ years at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and licensed to Salvus in 2018. Accepts the Salvus detection cartridge directly. Processes the evanescent-field signal and delivers a quantified result. Currently deployed in pilots with the Salvus APEX™ and Salvus FLOW™ for portable, in-field use. The Salvus detection core can be adapted to other form factors, such as monitoring stations and unmanned vehicles.
Detection cartridges
Each cartridge contains the receptor chemistry configured for a specific detection target. Swap cartridges to switch what you’re detecting. New cartridges can be developed for your specific target – custom or standard.
The technology
What happens inside the platform
Using interferometry, the Salvus Detection Platform is built on evanescent-field waveguide technology originally developed at GTRI — with over two decades of research behind it.
Evanescent-field detection
Light traveling through the waveguide creates a field that oscillates over the sensing surface — detecting refractive index changes caused by target molecules binding to the receptor layer.
Receptor-tunable
The ligand receptor layer can be tuned for any substance where a receptor can be developed — PFAS, PAA, ammonia, or custom compounds via development engagement.
Label-free detection
No fluorescent labels or secondary reagents required. The platform detects binding events directly — reducing workflow complexity and enabling open-platform research use.
CARTRIDGE-BASED MODEL
A swappable, growing library of cartridges
The Salvus Detection Platform follows a cartridge-based model. After the one-time acquisition of the Salvus PRISM, detection capability expands by swapping cartridges — each pre-configured for a specific target analyte. And multi-analyte detection is on our roadmap.
Current library
Single-analyte detection cartridges
Each cartridge contains the receptor chemistry for a specific detection target. Swap cartridges to switch what you're detecting. New cartridges can be developed for your specific need – custom or standard.
- Total PFAS (C6+) – full deployment
- PAA – in development
- Ammonia – in development
- Custom – by engagement
Library roadmap
Multi-analyte detection cartridges
The waveguide architecture of our Salvus Detection Platform is designed to support multiplexed detection — screening for more than one analyte from a single sample run. This is not a current off-the-shelf configuration, but it is an inherent capability of the underlying technology and a direction we are actively interested in pursuing with the right partners. If simultaneous multi-analyte detection is relevant to your work, we'd like to hear from you.
Detection library
Need a cartridge for something else?
We develop new cartridges for partners and customers. If you have a detection target in mind, we want to hear from you.
Form factor deployment options
More than a portable instrument
The Salvus detection core can be adapted beyond the current portable configuration.
- Full-Scale Deployment
Portable field unit
The standard configuration — Salvus APEX + Salvus FLOW + Salvus PRISM. Deployable at any site. Operator-run or Salvus-staffed service available. Currently accepting pilots for in-field PFAS detection.
- By Development
Fixed monitoring station
Continuous or scheduled monitoring at a fixed point — water inlet, discharge, or process line. Custom form factor development required.
- By Development
UGV/UAV/OEM integration
The Salvus Detection Platform can be adapted to unmanned vehicles, production-line instruments, or third-party OEM platforms. Engage through our custom form factor development path.
Portable Field Unit – How it works
From sample to result in four steps
No laboratory required. No shipping samples. No waiting weeks.
01
Collect sample
Draw a liquid sample at the point of concern — water source, discharge point, or any target matrix.
02
Prepare & condition
The Salvus APEX, or Automated Portable EXtraction module, runs the sample through buffer conditioning and deposits it into the sample container.
03
Insert & detect
Insert the detection cartridge into the Salvus PRISM, or Portable Real-time Interferometric Sensing Module. Add the sample, buffer, and waste containers to the Salvus FLOW, or FLOW box module. The PRISM’s evanescent field reads binding events at the receptor layer in real time.
04
Read result
Result displayed on the touchscreen in under 2 hours. Act at the site — no lab turnaround needed.
WORK WITH US
We build for you
If our current cartridge library doesn't cover your needs — or if you need the technology in a different form — we can build it for you.
New detection cartridge
We develop a new assay cartridge for your target analyte. The result is a production-ready cartridge that runs with the existing Salvus PRISM™— no new hardware required on your end. Suitable for novel compounds, proprietary targets, or any substance. We build for you.
Examples: new environmental contaminants, food safety targets, pathogen detection, industrial process chemicals, proprietary compound monitoring.
Custom form factor
We take the Salvus detection core and engineer it into a new physical configuration that meets your operational requirements — fixed monitoring stations, production-line integrations, UAV-mounted sensors, or OEM integrations into third-party instruments.
Examples: continuous water quality monitoring station, food production line integration, drone-mounted environmental sensor, OEM integration into a third-party instrument.
Portable Form Factor Pilot
A structured path to in-field PFAS detection
We work with interested customers through three stages — designed to build confidence in the platform and fit it to your specific site and operational needs before any long-term commitment. For those parties ready to integrate the platform into their operations, our Salvus PFAS solution is available for full-scale deployment.
1
Feasibility study
- Where we start
Discuss your use case. Send field samples from your site. We run them on the Salvus PRISM and through LC-MS/MS, establishing platform performance before further commitment.
2
Field deployment
- Accepting now
Our team travels to your active site and runs testing with our Salvus PFAS solution.
3
Full-scale deployment
- Flexible options
Tailored to your needs: platform purchase, lease, or managed service.
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION
The science behind the platform
Peer-reviewed data, validation studies, and white papers supporting the platform's performance claims.
Conference posters
Technical posters presented at industry conferences.
White Paper: The Salvus Detection Technology
The Salvus technology uses a small sensor that combines features of optical, chemical, and biological sciences to achieve target detection with its advantageous characteristics of speed, sensitivity, and specificity. In terms of optics, the underlying technology combines interferometers with waveguides.
White Paper: Rapid PFAS Sensor
To meet the critical demand for rapid, onsite PFAS detection, Salvus is developing a polymer-based sensor integrated into a portable detection system.
White Paper: PFOA Detection
Salvus has developed rapid detection and monitoring technology to help companies responsible for monitoring and managing PFOA.
See the platform in action
Explore PFAS solutions, view in-field setup, or download the spec sheet.