American and Vietnamese scientists are collaborating to implement a remote water quality monitoring system in Tien Hai (Thai Binh) and West Lake (Hanoi).
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| Dr. Kevin Montgomery (left) and colleagues inspecting the data relay station. |
This project is a collaboration between the High Technology Research Center and Telemedicine (TATRC), the University of Hawaii, the Vietnam Institute of Science and Technology, and the University of Public Health, aiming to establish the link between ecosystem changes and human health, as well as infectious diseases. The goal is to provide valuable information to assist in the prompt assessment and intervention by health authorities.
The system consists of high-tech sensor chips (InteleCell) designed to detect physical and chemical changes and pathogens in water.
These chips are connected to a small computing device powered by solar energy. This device reads data from numerous sensor chips and wirelessly transmits it to a base computer station. With a maximum radio transmission range of 22.5 km and the ability of the sensor chips to relay each other’s signals, a network of sensor chips can be established over hundreds of kilometers, even in steep terrains.
As soon as the data is transmitted to the computer station in real-time, it is uploaded to the internet to a central server. Here, the data will be integrated with public health information provided by local hospitals, processed, and analyzed to monitor and quickly detect infectious diseases related to water, environmental damages, and facilitate timely intervention measures.
According to Dr. Kevin Montgomery from TATRC, the system has been deployed in several locations in the Pacific region, including California, Hawaii, and most recently tested in Vietnam over the past few months. Specifically, in Tien Hai, the sensor chip has been tested in the drinking water supply system to transmit data to the district health office.
In the near future, TATRC will fund the establishment of a data reception server at the University of Public Health. This monitoring system is cost-effective, easy to deploy, and highly beneficial for Vietnam—a country where, according to the UN’s World Water Development Report in 2002, 80% of illnesses in rural areas are caused by water pollution or waterborne infectious diseases.
Images of several water sensor chips, self-operating through solar energy
Minh Son
