Researchers at Western New England College in Springfield and Physical Sciences in Andover, Mass., say current techniques for analyzing water in the field can take as long as 24 hours to complete, a release from the American Institute of Physics said.

In an Army-funded project, they say they're seeking an alternative technology that uses sound waves to accelerate the process.

"The goal of our project is to speed up the detection of bacteria in water supplies," Bart Lipkens of WNEC said. "We're developing a first order trigger, an alarm that maybe there's something in the water that warrants further investigation."

Lipkens has created a device that broadcasts waves of ultrasound into running water, exerting a pressure on the bacteria that pushes it into a collection pocket.

The device can draw in 15 percent of the bacterial cells from the water in a single pass.

The tests were conducted with a harmless species of bacteria, Bacillus cereus, which has properties similar to many types of bacteria that would be harmful in drinking water.

"We think we would ultimately get the same results with harmful bacteria," said Lipkens.

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