Detection of Microorganisms in Water Systems: a great communication forum for latest innovation in the industry

Last month Latis Scientific held our first Conference “Detection of Microorganisms in Water Systems” at the Royal College of Physicians In London.

The event provided an excellent communication forum for microbiologists, water specialists, engineers and industry experts to discuss the latest research and developments in methodologies for the detection of microorganisms in water systems. Among our expert speakers were Elise Maynard, Chair of the Water Management Society, Dr. Jorge Alvarez from LatisScientific, Dr. Hans Anton Keserue from rqmicro AG, Andy Bacon from VERAS and Dr. Brett Brewin from IDEXX.

Our morning sessions included a review of the Progress of the Rapid Microbiology Industry Liaison Group, and presentations on latest developments of Rapid Detection methods of microorganisms. The content presented, allowed attendees to have an appreciation of the different rapid methods that are available today. It was clear that no single method is perfect for all circumstances however we were able to find clear reasons to choose some methods over other depending on the objective of the testing exercise. It was also useful to see how the overall costs of some of the new technologies even though currently higher than culture methods, they are decreasing significantly.

Our afternoon sessions focused on new technologies that reduce the risk of legionella by removing debris and biofilm from the inside of pipes. The first technology, Airbubbles, involves entraining an air bubble, while at the same time treating the entire installation at a high temperature of at least 70ºC. The second technology, Ice Pigging is a highly effective and low risk pipe line cleaning technology which cleans the inside of pipes using an ice slurry. Both technologies attracted a high volume of interest and attendees from different industries had the chance to speak with the specialists and discuss potential future applications.

The conference received outstanding feedback and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors and speakers for their contribution and involvement at this event.

For more information about the conference content, the new technologies and presentations please email kleoniki.katsini@latisscientific.co.uk