VideometerLab Helps NIVA Protect Waters from Microplastics

Microplastic research is moving quickly, and researchers are constantly looking for methods that are faster, more consistent, and less destructive to the samples they work so hard to collect. At the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), the VideometerLab multispectral imaging system has become part of that search across several recent studies, from paint debris on ship decks to a simplified water sampling protocol for schools. We spoke with Sverre Hjelset, Head Engineer at NIVA, about his experience using the instrument.

What NIVA researchers are saying

Sverre Hjelset, Head Engineer at NIVA, shared the following account of his experience with the VideometerLab4:

It has been exciting to work with the VideometerLab for microplastic analysis. At NIVA, we continuously look for new and more efficient ways to improve our analytical approaches, and the VideometerLab represents a promising new technology in a field that is continuously evolving and where there is an increasing demand for faster, more quantitative, and non-destructive methods for particle characterization. These are areas where the Videometer shows great potential.

One of the aspects I appreciate most is the speed of the system. Analyses that can take days using traditional approaches can potentially be completed within minutes, provided that a suitable algorithm has been developed and validated for the specific application. The machine learning capabilities are particularly interesting, as they open up new possibilities for automated and efficient particle classification.

As with any emerging technology, there are still areas where further development could strengthen its application for microplastic analysis. In particular, improvements in camera resolution and spectral capabilities, such as additional wavelengths, would help increase the ability to characterize smaller and more complex particles. However, imaging technology is advancing rapidly, and continued improvements in these areas could significantly expand the potential of the system.

I believe that with further technological development, the VideometerLab has the potential to become an important tool in the future of microplastic analysis, combining speed, automation, and non-destructive measurements in a way that complements and potentially transforms current analytical approaches.

Sverre Hjelset, Head Engineer, NIVA

Three studies, one shared tool

That experience spans several recent projects. Over the past year, NIVA researchers have applied the VideometerLab to a range of environmental questions.

The VideometerLab helped classify paint flakes and iron oxide-rich corrosion particles collected from the decks of operating ships, separating them from conventional plastic fragments. This work is part of Silent Spill: maritime microplastics from vessel coatings, published in Science of the Total Environment (read the study).

In a separate project, the VideometerLab was used by one of the participating expert laboratories to benchmark results against a simplified microplastic counting method designed for teachers and citizen scientists. This is described in a Joint Research Centre report, From Science to Citizen Science: Assessing Microplastic Particle Counting in Water Samples (read the report).

Most recently, NIVA researchers used the VideometerLab to check whether tyre particles had been internalized in the gill and digestive gland tissue of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis. This study appears in Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology (read the study).

Beyond microplastics in water

Hjelset’s team has also tested the system against traditional methods directly. In early recovery testing carried out for PAPILLONS, an EU Horizon 2020 project coordinated by NIVA that investigates microplastics and nanoplastics in European agricultural soils, the VideometerLab was used to analyze nearly all of the soil samples, with the team recording an error rate of around 10 percent. That is a strong result for this type of particle analysis, particularly given that manual methods can take days per sample, compared to roughly two minutes per sample with the VideometerLab4.

Looking ahead

From vessel decks to agricultural soil to mussel tissue, the VideometerLab is being put to work across a wide range of microplastic research questions. For researchers who need more wavelengths or higher camera resolution than the standard configuration offers, Videometer can build a customized VideometerLab system to match specific analytical requirements. If you would like to learn more about multispectral imaging for particle analysis, visit our VideometerLab product page.

Thank you to Sverre Hjelset and the team at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research for sharing their experience with us.