Aquatest Incubator

Product Description

Aquatest incubator is a low-cost phase-change incubator initially designed for microbiological water testing particularly in conjunction with the Aquatest kit. However, it can also be adapted for other fields, including clinical microbiology, environmental monitoring, and sample transport. The portable and user-friendly incubator does not require an electrical power supply for testing.

The Aquatest incubator was developed as part of the Aquatest project. This was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. There was only a limited number produced for trials and evaluation. The incubator worked well, although the Aquatest device itself was less successful, therefore the product itself is discontinued for now. ^{Interview with representative, August 2020}

Target SDGs

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Market Suggested Retail Price

$4.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Community, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Public Sector Agencies

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

This product was supposed to be implemented by 17 organizations in 16 countries especially through water suppliers, health surveillance agencies, international NGOs, and researchers.

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include Body Belt Incubator and Oxfam-DelAgua Single Incubator Kit.

Manufacturing/Building Method

This product is produced and assembled by the University of Bristol in the UK.

Intellectural Property Type

Select Type

User Provision Model

Unknown

Distributions to Date Status

Unknown

Test types included

E. Coli detection

Equipment included

Aquatest 100 mL water testing device and Aquatest UV lamp

Tests per kit

Unknown

Detection range

10 E. coli colonies in 100 mL of water

Processing time for one sample (hr)

24 hr

Additional materials required

Aquatest 100 mL water testing device and Aquatest UV lamp

Power required (yes/no)

Complete kit weight (kg)

2 Kg

Design Specifications

The Aquatest incubator is a small and portable microbiological water testing device that weighs around 2 Kg. The device doesn't require any power source for operation. It utilizes a vacuum flask to provide a high level of insulation and a phase change material (PCM) to store energy in the form of latent heat. The incubator works on the heat transferred from the boiling water to the PCM. 500 mL of boiling water is poured on the incubation chamber of the device and after 30+ mins the water is thrown out of the chamber as the heat would already melt the PCM material inside and make it ready to use. The temperature inside the flask is automatically maintained around 37ºC which is the adequate temperature for the growth of E. coli bacteria. The sample is then put inside the incubator and allowed to rest for 24 hr before the analysis.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

None available, this product is discontinued.

Replacement Components

Boiling water

Lifecycle

Unknown

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

The Aquatest incubator was designed to be a simple, cost-effective, portable, power-free, and easily adaptable E.Coli incubator for water testing.

Vetted Performance Status

The product was tested by WHO, OXFAM, UNC Water Institute, Kinneir Dufort.

Safety

No known safety hazards are related to this product.

Complementary Technical Systems

Aquatest testing device, Aquatest UV lamp

Academic Research and References

Moreover, Aquatest also cites a list of research articles produced by participants of the Aquatest Project.

“Bringing Safe Water Testing to Its Source.” n.d. Bristol.Ac.Uk. https://www.bristol.ac.uk/engineering/media/aquatest/brochure.pdf

Unknown, and View my Complete Profile. n.d. “Wit and Wisdom of an Engineer.” Blogspot.Com. https://witandwisdomofanengineer.blogspot.com/2012/05/aquatest.html

“Goal 6.” n.d. Sdgs.Un.Org. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6

Compliance with regulations

Unknown

Evaluation methods

Unknown

Other Information

Video on use of Aquatest Kit

Implemented by

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