The "Holy Grail" of Process Instrumentation?

I have not needed such directly (yet), but I have been reading about some rather novel "lab-on-a-chip" developments that might just fill this role. Originally developed for rapid turn-around uses like research labs and explosives detection, there's no reason to limit them from more mundane applications. Apparently the price is expected to be in the pennies-to-dollars range, not the megabucks of previous microchemistry applications.

In our factory I've felt that we need an online concentration analyzer (something that measures the concentration of a substance dissolved in water). Unfortunately, my bosses won't allow it because it's not allowed .

We have, instead, the analyzer in the control room where the operator has to go outside, get a sample and put it in the analyzer.

Analysis takes only a few seconds so it's not so much of a big deal. I feel, however, that much can be learned from the process by having an online analyzer.

But generals don't listen to the soldiers who have their faces buried in their foxholes, right? They get to stand up and see the "bigger picture".

regards,

Vulcan