Bacteria Hand-Held Sensor
Mentor 1
Marcia Silva
Mentor 2
Thomas Hansen
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
5-4-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
5-4-2019 3:30 PM
Description
Water quality testing typically indirectly measures the amount of Escherichia Coli (E. coli) in water by measuring the Fecal Indicator Bacteria amount. This study introduces a sensor that improves upon the stated testing process by directly testing for bacteria of all types by having a computer program view and count the biotic and non-biotic particles in water using Digital Inline Holographic Microscopy (DIHM) with blob detection. The results show a correlation between the bacteria concentration of E. coli provided to the sensor and counted through traditional methods to the number of particles counted by the sensor. The relationship shows that the sensor is effective. With the time to acquire results being less than 20 minutes, versus waiting 18 hours to perform a colony count using the United States of America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 1603, and with the sensor’s cost of less than 300 USD, the sensor is effective, fast, and affordable.
Bacteria Hand-Held Sensor
Union Wisconsin Room
Water quality testing typically indirectly measures the amount of Escherichia Coli (E. coli) in water by measuring the Fecal Indicator Bacteria amount. This study introduces a sensor that improves upon the stated testing process by directly testing for bacteria of all types by having a computer program view and count the biotic and non-biotic particles in water using Digital Inline Holographic Microscopy (DIHM) with blob detection. The results show a correlation between the bacteria concentration of E. coli provided to the sensor and counted through traditional methods to the number of particles counted by the sensor. The relationship shows that the sensor is effective. With the time to acquire results being less than 20 minutes, versus waiting 18 hours to perform a colony count using the United States of America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 1603, and with the sensor’s cost of less than 300 USD, the sensor is effective, fast, and affordable.
