Guwahati: Researchers at IIT Guwahati have developed an optical sensing device that can instantly detect multiple toxicants in water and other biological samples, the institute said in a statement on Thursday.
The innovation, aligned with the Centre's Jal Jeevan Mission, aims to address the challenge of ensuring safe drinking water through quick and accurate quality monitoring.
To address the issue, the research team has developed a portable point-of-care testing device named 'E-Eye', which functions as an electronic eye to detect toxicants on-site while maintaining high accuracy and transmitting data wirelessly to water treatment facilities.
The findings of the research have been published in the IEEE Sensors Journal in a paper co-authored by Tapas K Mandal and Harshal B Nemade, along with research scholars Shrikant Kashyap, Smriti Sachan and Neha Majee from IIT-Guwahati, Maitrayee Bhuyan from KIIT-Bhubaneswar and Humayun Kabir from Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Kolkata.
E-Eye works through a chemical reaction that produces a coloured compound, with the intensity of the colour indicating the concentration of toxicants.
Using optical principles, the device analyses water samples, converts sensor output into digital data and displays the toxicant concentration.
Unlike conventional laboratory-based expensive instruments, E-Eye is designed for direct field deployment and can detect water contaminants at the source, the statement said.
During laboratory tests, the research team found that results are comparable to those of standard UV-Visible and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers (AAS), while offering advanced digital integration functionality.
"The device operates on the Beer-Lambert law and combines optical sensing with digital electronics to generate accurate quantitative measurements. Our device has been able to successfully detect toxicants such as arsenic, lead, iron, chromium, fluoride and Escherichia coli bacteria," said Mandal, professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT-Guwahati.
The E-Eye device has been developed at a cost of around Rs 3,500, with a per-sample testing cost of around Rs 2. The cost of the device can be reduced further through large-scale industrial production.
Other than water quality monitoring, the device is capable of analysing toxicants in environmental samples, biological samples, vegetables, food products, tea and herbal products, soil, and milk as well.
The research team has tested more than 2,700 samples with the developed device and recorded accurate results.
Nemade, professor at the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, IIT-Guwahati, said E-Eye has significant application potential across government departments, industries and private enterprises.
"It can support agencies under the Ministry of Jal Shakti in water quality monitoring, assist food and herbal product manufacturers, and help industries monitor liquid effluents containing heavy metals, bacteria and odour-causing compounds," Nemade said.
Supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the research team has established a startup, ENVIONIX Labs Pvt Ltd, to commercialise the developed technology.
Additionally, the team also plans to collaborate with an industry partner to initiate technology transfer and bring this innovation from lab to land.
As the next step, the team is working on integrating solar panels into the developed technology to make it self-sustaining and enable cloud connectivity for remote monitoring and data management, the statement added.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.