Hand-held Bacteria Detector Sensor
Mentor 1
Marcia Silva
Mentor 2
Tom Hansen
Mentor 3
Rudi Strickler
Location
Union 240
Start Date
29-4-2016 12:40 PM
Description
Detection and quantification of microbial pollutants in nearly real time is widely needed in the environmental and medical fields. The objective of this research project is to design a hand-held bacteria sensor, easily transportable, that can successfully determine the concentration of Escherichia coli (E. coli), or potentially other bacteria. This device records holographic images of samples and analyzes these images for concentrations quickly with consistency. E. coli is specifically a fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) that can indicate a possible fecal contamination in beach water, tap water, swimming pools, etc. Currently, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the quickest detection time for E. coli is 24 hours. This device will be using Digital Inline Holography Microscopy (DIHM) techniques to detect particles. Through the construction of the hand-held bacteria sensor, measurement of E. coli concentrations can be determined in the time frame of 10 minutes to about 3 hours. This variability in detection time is dependent on how many images or sets must be taken to properly measure the E. coli concentration. The device is sensitive enough to detect E. coli levels from 1.2 x 103 CFU/ml to 1.2x105 CFU/ml in deionized water; environmental waters have not been tested yet. All in all, this detection time is much faster than current techniques along with a much more affordable device. Although the current efforts have been on detection of E. coli, it is expected that the sensor will be also suitable for detecting and quantifying other biological pollutants in water.
Hand-held Bacteria Detector Sensor
Union 240
Detection and quantification of microbial pollutants in nearly real time is widely needed in the environmental and medical fields. The objective of this research project is to design a hand-held bacteria sensor, easily transportable, that can successfully determine the concentration of Escherichia coli (E. coli), or potentially other bacteria. This device records holographic images of samples and analyzes these images for concentrations quickly with consistency. E. coli is specifically a fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) that can indicate a possible fecal contamination in beach water, tap water, swimming pools, etc. Currently, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the quickest detection time for E. coli is 24 hours. This device will be using Digital Inline Holography Microscopy (DIHM) techniques to detect particles. Through the construction of the hand-held bacteria sensor, measurement of E. coli concentrations can be determined in the time frame of 10 minutes to about 3 hours. This variability in detection time is dependent on how many images or sets must be taken to properly measure the E. coli concentration. The device is sensitive enough to detect E. coli levels from 1.2 x 103 CFU/ml to 1.2x105 CFU/ml in deionized water; environmental waters have not been tested yet. All in all, this detection time is much faster than current techniques along with a much more affordable device. Although the current efforts have been on detection of E. coli, it is expected that the sensor will be also suitable for detecting and quantifying other biological pollutants in water.
