Real Time Inline Bacteria Detection for Military Mobile Water Treatment System

Physical Sciences Inc., in cooperation with Boston University, proposes to develop an Interferometric Reflectance Imaging Sensor (IRIS) to detect waterborne pathogens including E. coli for use with military mobile water treatment systems. The imaging platform will employ an algorithm to discriminate E. coli based on size/shape analysis concurrent with capture probes with application to multiplexed detection of additional pathogens. The sensor offers a combination of high sensitivity (1 CFU/mL) and short testing time (<1 hour) in a low-cost, compact form factor employing commercial off the shelf components with minimal reagents and requiring no labeling. The Phase I effort will develop a breadboard IRIS water pathogen detector and prototype algorithm specifically tailored to the Armys application. The breadboard will be used to validate a system model and, in concert with the prototype algorithm, will be used to perform a system validation. Requirements, concept of operation, and a conceptual design for a Phase II prototype IRIS imaging sensor will also be generated.