Edstrom Indigo RO systems are the industry standard for purified water in animal research facilities. They’re reliable, proven, and trusted by institutions across North America. But they have a critical blind spot: visibility.
ATEK solved this by integrating directly with the Edstrom’s built-in controller - delivering real-time data, historical trending, and 24/7 alerts without touching the water system itself.
The Problem: A Black Box
Research facilities running Edstrom Indigo RO systems face a common set of challenges:
- No remote access. To check the system, someone has to physically walk to the equipment room. At 2 AM on a Saturday, that’s nobody.
- Basic alarms only. Binary on/off alerts tell you something failed, but not what’s been trending toward failure for weeks.
- No historical data. No way to spot degradation patterns, plan maintenance proactively, or produce audit-ready compliance records.
- Reactive by default. Problems are discovered after they’ve already impacted water quality - and potentially your research.
For facilities where water quality directly impacts animal welfare and research integrity, this gap is unacceptable.
The ATEK Solution
ATEK connects directly to the Edstrom Indigo RO’s built-in iLON SmartServer - the controller that already manages the system - via its native SOAP API.
Key characteristics of the integration:
- Non-invasive - zero modifications to the existing Edstrom system
- Lightweight gateway deployed on-site, communicates over the existing network
- Data every 60 seconds pushed to ATEK’s cloud platform
- Full dashboard with real-time values, historical charts, and trend analysis
- Custom alerts on any parameter via email, SMS, or push notification
- API access for integration with LIMS, BMS, or facility management systems
The Edstrom system keeps running exactly as it always has. ATEK simply gives you eyes on it - from anywhere.
What We Monitor
Every critical parameter of the RO system, organized into six categories:
Tank Levels - Storage tank levels across the system. Know your water inventory in real-time, before it runs out.
Water Quality - Conductivity and pH monitoring. The moment purification performance degrades, you see it - long before it affects your supply.
Temperature - Permeate and distribution water temperature. Ensure water meets specification at the point of use, not just at the RO unit.
Pressure - RO pump, filter, and back pressure. Pressure trends are the best predictor of membrane fouling and filter life - tracked continuously instead of checked manually.
Flow Rates - Concentrate, permeate, and recirculation flow. Flow anomalies reveal efficiency losses and potential leaks before they become failures.
Production Statistics - Volume produced, run time, rejection rate, and recovery rate. The metrics that define whether your RO system is performing to spec, tracked automatically over time.
How It Works
The architecture is straightforward:
- Edstrom Indigo RO - your existing water system, unchanged
- iLON SmartServer - the built-in controller, accessed via its SOAP API
- ATEK Gateway - a lightweight device on your existing network
- ATEK Cloud - api.atek.io receives data every 60 seconds
- Dashboard, Alerts, API - accessible from any device, anywhere
No sensors to install. No wiring. No downtime. The gateway reads data from the controller that already manages your system.
Why This Matters
Animal Welfare
Water quality directly impacts research animal health. Degraded RO water can compromise entire colonies. Continuous monitoring catches issues in minutes, not days.
Research Integrity
Inconsistent water quality introduces uncontrolled variables. Monitoring ensures consistency and reproducibility - and gives you the data to prove it.
Predictive Maintenance
Pressure trends reveal membrane fouling weeks before failure. Flow rate drops flag efficiency losses early. Maintain based on actual system condition instead of arbitrary schedules.
Compliance Documentation
CCAC, AAALAC, and institutional protocols require documented environmental conditions. ATEK provides continuous, timestamped, tamper-evident records automatically.
Remote Access
Facility managers, maintenance teams, and researchers can check the system from anywhere - phone, laptop, or API. No more walking to the equipment room to read a gauge.
24/7 Alerting
Set custom thresholds on any parameter. Get notified the moment something drifts out of range, before problems become emergencies.
In Production: Centre de Recherche du CHUM
The Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CR CHUM) - Montreal’s largest university hospital research center - deployed this integration on the Edstrom Indigo RO system serving their animal research facility.
Before ATEK: Zero remote visibility. Manual, on-site checks. Basic on/off alarms. No historical data.
After ATEK: Real-time monitoring of all critical water system parameters. Full historical data and trending. Automated alerts on any threshold. Complete operational transparency, accessible from anywhere.
The deployment was non-invasive, required zero modifications to the existing Edstrom system, and was operational within days.
Who This Is For
- Research facilities running Edstrom Indigo RO systems who need visibility into their water infrastructure
- Facility managers who want to check system status without walking to the equipment room
- Maintenance teams tired of reactive repairs, wanting data-driven scheduling
- Compliance officers needing audit-ready, continuous monitoring records
Need Remote Access to Your Edstrom Data?
If your facility runs an Edstrom Indigo RO and you want real-time visibility, historical trending, and 24/7 alerts - without modifying your equipment - fill out the form below. The integration is non-invasive, proven in production, and can be deployed in days.
