As we are all aware, the easiest way to bring down a continent is to infect/pollute/contaminate the water. Further, when contingents move into unknown areas, they have to source water and they get sick if the water is contaminated. The need for an on-field portable sensor is felt in many remote areas where contingents are posted.Water-borne diseases caused due to consumption of contaminated drinking water are a severe problem in developing and under-developed countries. Various measures and policies are being implemented to achieve safe drinking water for every individual around the world. Detection of pathogens is thus essential of water quality monitoring, to prevent diseases caused due to natural contamination or contamination due to bioterrorism. To address the problem of pathogen detection, we are developing a highly sensitive fiber-optic sensor platform. The fiber-optic sensor combines the properties of plasmonic nanoparticles with the inherent high sensitivity of the U-shaped optical fiber. The aim is to develop a portable devices with highly sensitive sensing technology for detection of the presence of bacterial pathogens in the drinking water, with the advantage of fast detection (< 1 hour) than the standard culturing technique. This device can detect pathogens in a short duration, with the convenience of on-field testing.

The device has two parts: A compact optical sensing platform and a disposable cartridge. The compact optical sensing unit consists of a stabilized optical source and multiple detectors for measurement of the changes in optical signal due to the interaction of optical fiber with the analyte of interest. The interaction is dependent on the choice of coatings of optical fiber, which is inside the cartridge. The cartridge is ergonomically designed for on-field replacement.

Features
– Detection of various analytes using specific cartridges on the same platform
– On-device display with sensing alerts
– Battery back-up of 24 hrs (Active time)
– Communication interface: USB and Bluetooth
– Windows based software for analysis of data.
– Replaceable cartridge
– 32-bit ARM processor for fast processing and for supporting additional upgrades
– 16-bit ADC for high resolution
– Dimensions: 7.5 cm x 16.8 cm x 3 cm