There are a lot of biological particles in water streams, which include things like pathogens. Taking measurements of water quality has been done for many years now, but biological particles have been a difficult thing to accurately measure consistently. When you take something like pH or temperature for example, it’s easy to take digital measurements.

Pathogens on the other hand, require manual samples which are evaluated with the use of test strips similarly to the now well-known corona virus test strips. This project seeks to develop a way to take these kind of sample tests in a hands-off approach and making it self-sufficient so that it can take measurements for weeks on end without any maintenance.

Assignment

The assignment is to develop a scientific instrument that is able to detect the presence and/or amount of certain biological particles in water, giving a better insight in the quality of water.

Current state of the project

We currently have a working proof of concept. All mechanical and electrical components are functional, but we have yet to be able to test the prototype with an actual reagent and water that would be tested in its intended use case. It is currently tested with red-coloured ink and tap water in order to test consistency between measurements

The end goal for the project/semester

The end goal for this semester is to deliver a functional proof of concept, which is able to execute and visualize the process of taking the measurements.

What will happen with the project after the semester is finished

The proof of concept and all available documentation will be handed over to the interested parties, who will subsequently decide on how to further develop this project into a complete product. These partners include the Wageningen University and Research and HAN Biocentre.

• Learn more from this project in this poster presentation (pdf)

Students involved:

Industrial Design Engineering

• Esther Busscher
• Kjell Derksen

Embedded Systems Engineering

• Jacob Willemsen
• Ruben Pomstra

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

• Jan Gerritsen
• Susan Drenth

Mechanical Engineering

• Maarten Groeneweg
• Ties van der Lecq

Source: HAN