Progress 02/15/23 to 02/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences we focused on during the period were two-fold. The first audience we focused on is the meat and poultry processors. During year one, we were mainly collaborating with Eickman's Meat Processing located in Seward, IL and Hampton Meats located in Hopkinsville, KY. We did multiple site visits to Hampton Meats and one site visit to Eickman's Meat Processing. During the visits, we examined the current set up, determined the current system requirements as well as identified what features will be most beneficial in the system we are creating. At both facilities, we inspected floor layout, monitoring areas, and existing cleaning processes. After reviewing all the production areas, the packaging area was found to be the most efficient sampling area because of the natural air collection during the packaging process. As part of our business development efforts, we were also able to network with the American Association of Meat Processors. We identified that we qualify for free membership to this organization and we have incorporated that membership into our year two go-to-market plan. The second audience we have focused on is microbiology labs, whichservice the meat and poultry processors. This work has 3objectives. One, partnering with microbiology labs that are currently testing samples from meat and poultry processors helps us to independently validate our results. Second, since these labs are in daily direct contact with our primary customers, they provide a valuable and reliable marketing channel for us. Developing relationships with them is a part of our go-to-market strategy, we have identified them as a possible channel partner. Third, the same methodology can complement or in some cases even replace the currently used methods of microbiological analysis. It is our hope that as microbiology labs independently validate our results, they will become more comfortable using our sample testing equipment to test samples for the meat and poultry industry and will become a secondary customer. Most of our system validation and testing work is currently conducted at the Breathitt Vetinary Center (BVC) located in Hopkinsville KY. The BVC (https://breathitt.murraystate.edu/) is fully accredited for all animal species by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD). The scientific disciplines of Pathology, Microbiology, Molecular Diagnostics, Toxicology, Serology, and Virology are provided in the facility. The BVC continually expands its testing capabilities and strives to incorporate advancements in scientific tests and equipment into its operations. Breathitt Veterinary Center is the custodian of a unique collection that consist of expertly preserved, authenticated cell lines and microbial strains of known provenance for use in medical science and laboratory healthcare. The collection is developed, managed and maintained by highly trained, dedicated staff who work in accordance with internationally recognized quality standards. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Currently, two students from Western Kentucky University are working on this project as Adelphi interns. They become very skilled at building portable analytical instrumentation. Adelphi is planning to hire those students full-time after graduation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Meetings with potential customers and collaborators were conducted on a weekly basis. Several field trips with product demonstrations were accomplished. The main instrument for dissemination of information about Adelphi product is our website: www.atherotek.com We published the following peer reviewed journal article below, but the funding came from NASA and only NASA grants are listed in the publication: Vladimir Dobrokhotov, Alexander Larin, Elena Viugina, Adam Emberton, Andrey Livchak, Jay T. Cremer and Charles K. Gary, A Compact Monitor for Ethylene and Other Plant-Produced Volatile Organic Compounds for NASA Space Missions 23(24) 9713 (2023). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Task One: Installation of a distributed air monitoring system at the meat and poultry processing facility. The main focus of our current work is the integration of Adelphi VOC analyzer in the meat packaging system. The goal is to analyze naturally collected air samples without interfering with the normal processing facility operations. Task Two: Integration of Adelphi gas analyzer with Halton Air purification and disinfection systems. Adelphi analyzer is now fully integrated in the Halton infrastructure. The device can communicate with every component of Halton equipment, send and receive data, conduct remote monitoring and control. Year one was mainly focused on monitoring of pathogens. The next step will be to transfer more elements of the disinfection and purification system to the meat processing facilities and test them in the field under control of Adelphi analyzer. After that the system assembly and testing will be complete. Task Three: System testing and performance evaluation. In year one, we determined seven characteristic peaks (signature VOCs) corresponding to pathogenic contamination. The next step will be to verify those VOCs using parallel measurements with the mass spectrometer. In addition to that, such parallel measurement would allow us to quantity the level of pathogenic contamination, based on the analysis of concentrations of seven pathogen-produced VOCs. Finally, pattern recognition algorithm will be finalized by using the qualitative and quantitative VOC data as an input. Commercialization Plan The bulk of our commercialization work will be performed in year two. Our next step will be developing a comprehensive business model and go-to-market plan, including a social media strategy. In tandem with that plan we will be commencing our customer discovery research interviews. This work will inform the value proposition and the go-to-market strategy. We will utilize this research to validate the competitive matrix we commissioned in year one and make any necessary updates. We will also complete a brand guide and make any necessary adjustments to existing collateral including our website, as well as creating new collateral. We will complete the regulatory roadmap analysis in year two as well as the manufacturing feasibility reports and the techno-economic analysis. At the end of Q'2 of 2024 we will begin our business development efforts in earnest. These will be informed by the go-to-market strategy and the sales pipeline we will create, but we anticipate creating white papers, attending trade shows, and direct sales efforts within our target market.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Task One: Installation of a distributed air monitoring system at the meat and poultry processing facility. Two meat processing facilities were evaluated for the optimum equipment installation: Eickman's Meat Processing located in Seward, IL and Hampton Meats located in Hopkinsville, KY. We did multiple site visits to Hampton Meats and one site visit to Eickman's Meat Processing. During the visits, we examined the current set up, determined the current system requirements as well as identified what features will be most beneficial in the system we are creating. At both facilities, we inspected floor layout, monitoring areas, and existing cleaning process. After reviewing all the production areas, the packaging area was found to be the most efficient sampling area, because of the natural air collection during the packaging process. Currently, Adelphi monitoring system is installed at Hampton Meats and the data is routinely collected. Task Two: Integration of Adelphi gas analyzer with Halton Air purification and disinfection systems Adelphi gas analyzer is a compact, portable, and robust battery-powered analytical instrument for analysis of complex multicomponent mixtures of gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Adelphi gas analyzer provides an analog 0-10V (or digital) signal feedback for each sampling channel to 3rd party systems/controls. The output signal is modulated by threshold values provided by the customer. Four analog signals were used as a secure backup during the integration with Halton purification systems. The primary data integration with Halton equipment was done over BACnet IP protocol. The IP settings of controls of Adelphi gas analyzer and Halton purification systems were configured under the same IP network. Remote network devices were added to each PLC program for synchronized data exchange between PLCs. During the integration main parameters and critical alarms were shared with the Halton purification systems. At the same time, remote control of Halton equipment was granted to the Adelphi gas analyzer. Adelphi gas analyzer provides a list of variables (environmental status, concentrations, critical alarms, remote control for manual sampling, and device status) over multiple protocols Rest API, BACnet IP, BACnet MSTP, and Modbus to Building Management Systems (BMS). In our current setup, we integrated data from the Adelphi gas analyzer to the simulator of BMS. Adelphi gas analyzer data was integrated into the Halton IoT system. Halton Edge device was used to convert local data protocol to MQTT protocol and send data to Halton IoT over the cellular connection. We were able to visualize transferred data at the Halton IoT hub, store the data at long-term database, and provide remote control to remote devices, a VPN option for tech support and commissioning processes. Task Three: System testing and performance evaluation. Since no outbreaks were reported at the meat processing facilities or at the veterinary clinic we are collaborating with, the main emphasis was on the inoculation experiments conducted at Breathitt Veterinary Center. The procedure included the following two steps: Step 1: A meat or poultry sample (with no pathogens) is placed in a plastic box equipped with an air sampling port. A gas sample is collected, and the chromatogram is recorded. An air sample from uninfected meat is needed to establish the baseline. Step 2. The same sample gets inoculated with the pathogen of interest: Listeria, E. coli or Salmonella. After that it is placed in the plastic box for air sampling. The sample is collected, and the chromatograph is recorded.The goal of this experiment is to collect multiple chromatograms of infected and uninfected samples for processing by the pattern recognition algorithm. The data was collected continuously over the period of three months. Seven characteristic peaks (signature VOCs) corresponding to pathogenic contamination were identified. Strong connection between salmonella and sulfur-based compounds was established. Characteristic peaks corresponding to listeria and E. coli were also identified and currently undergoing verification using mass-spectrometer. Commercialization Plan During year one we were able to initiate a patentability landscape. We began work on our customer discovery work including development of a questionnaire for discovery of customers current needs in order to validate the system value proposition. We began developing a customer marketing list. In addition to reviewing relevant pre-published market research, we commissioned a custom market research report on the meat and poultry processing industry, with specific emphasis on indoor air quality and safety including market sizing and competitive analysis. The bulk of our commercialization work will be completed in year two.
Publications
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