Patent ID: 8637303

Claim:
A system for assessing the characteristics and toxicity of a water sample comprising: a light-tight test chamber disposed to contain the water sample; an optical signal generator configured to emit an optical signal into the test chamber; a first digital filter disposed between the optical signal generator and the test chamber such that the first digital filter controls the wavelength of the optical signal that enters the test chamber; a first optical transducer disposed to generate a first data signal in response to detecting radiant energy in the test chamber; a second digital filter disposed between the first optical transducer and the test chamber such that the second digital filter controls the wavelength of the radiant energy that is detected by the first optical transducer; an aqueous suspension of live dinoflagellates contained within the test chamber and mixed with the water sample; a stimulator disposed to stimulate the live dinoflagellates to emit a bioluminescence signal; and a microprocessor operatively coupled to the optical signal generator, the first digital optical filter, the stimulator, the first optical transducer, and the second digital filter, wherein the microprocessor is configured to assess the characteristics of the water sample through spectral analysis based on the first data signal, and wherein the microprocessor is further configured to assess the toxicity of the water sample based on the bioluminescence signal and a fluorescence response of the dinoflagellates to an excitation signal from the optical signal generator.