‘Where microbiology meets computer science’ is how Annie Brooking sums up her company, Bactest. ‘We measure the respiration rate of bacteria – that’s what the core technology is able to do,’ she adds. ‘We take that respiration rate and then do interesting things with it, that makes for useful business products.’

One of those products is Shepherd, so named because, like a shepherd tending sheep, it manages the floc – it provides a way to monitor and help manage microbiological growth in wastewater treatment. It measures respiration in the aerobic treatment stage and provides a means to optimise aeration and deliver other benefits, such as monitoring for toxic loads entering the plant. Shepherd is currently being used by a number of water utilities around the world.

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