Remote water monitoring

US and Vietnamese scientists are collaborating to pilot a remote water environment monitoring system in Tien Hai (Thai Binh) and Ho Tay (Hanoi).

Dr. Kevin Montgomery (left) and his colleague are checking the data relay station. This is a cooperative project between the Center for High-Tech Research and Telemedicine (TATRC), University of Hawaii, Vietnam Institute of Science and Technology, and the University of Public Health to determine the relationship between change change of ecosystems with human health and infectious diseases. The goal is to provide valuable information for rapid assessment and intervention by health agencies.

The system consists of high-tech sensor chips (InteleCell), which detects physical and chemical changes and pathogens in the country.

They are connected to a small, solar powered device. This device reads data from a multitude of sensor chips and transmits wireless data to a base computer station. Since the maximum radio signal transmission distance is 22.5km and the sensor chips are capable of relaying each other's signals, it is possible to establish a network of sensor chips hundreds of kilometers long, even in locations. steep shape.

Once transmitted to the computer station in real time, the data is uploaded to the internet to the central server. Here, data will be integrated with public health information provided by local hospitals, processed and analyzed to quickly track and detect waterborne diseases, damages on the environment, from which there are timely interventions.

According to Dr. Kevin Montgomery, of TATRC, the system has been deployed in several locations in the Pacific region, including California, Hawaii and most recently tested in Vietnam in the past few months. Specifically, in Tien Hai, the sensor chip has been tested at the drinking water supply system to transmit data to the district health office.

In the future, TATRC will sponsor to set up a server system to receive data at the Hanoi School of Public Health. This monitoring system is inexpensive, easy to deploy and very useful for Vietnam - a country that according to the UN World Development Report in 2002, 80% of the rural diseases due to water pollution or pollution. Infectious diseases caused by water.

Image of some water sensor chips, self-operated thanks to solar energy

Minh Son