PFI-TT: Inline Particle Monitoring in Sterile Liquid Filtration Systems via Holographic Imaging

这一创新技术转化伙伴关系(PFI-TT)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是检测食品和饮料部门使用的过滤系统中的污染。该项目将开发一种在线监测系统，用于检测食品和饮料生产线无菌液体过滤系统中的颗粒污染物(如细菌、真菌)，以提供及时的过程分析，防止计划外偏差和停机时间，同时保持全天候合规性。该方法可以很容易地适用于制药行业的应用，以及外科手术/器官移植房间的空气质量监测、建筑工地的石棉监测等。设想的系统是一种低成本、紧凑的装置，只需最少的维护，因为它可以保持校准多年。将向代表不足的学生提供创业培训，包括美洲原住民和妇女。拟议的项目推进了数字全息图像传感，以捕捉三维样本体积中颗粒的衍射图案，以及基于机器学习的图像处理，以单颗粒敏感度表征它们(例如，浓度、类型、生存能力)。该方法可以实现对污染物，特别是腐败微生物的实时、高通量分析，这是现有的使用显微成像的在线监测技术所不能做到的。它可以替代传统的需要几天的离线培养方法，作为一种快速的无标签微生物检测方法。此外，这种方法可以区分一些微生物并测试其活性，这是其他快速测试，如聚合酶链式反应无法做到的。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to detect contamination in filter systems used in the food and beverage sector. The project will develop an inline monitoring system for detecting particle contaminants (e.g., bacteria, fungi) in the sterile liquid filtration systems of food & beverage product lines to provide timely process analysis, which prevents unplanned excursions and downtime while maintaining 24/7 compliance. The method can be readily adapted for applications in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as air quality monitoring in surgical operation/organ transplant rooms, asbestos monitoring at construction sites, etc. The envisioned system is a low-cost, compact setup requiring minimal maintenance as it can remain calibrated for years. Entrepreneurship training will be provided to underrepresented students, including native Americans and women.The proposed project advances digital holographic image sensing to capture diffracted patterns of particles in a three-dimensional sample volume and machine learning-based image processing to characterize them (e.g., concentration, type, viability) with single particle sensitivity. The method can achieve real-time, high-throughput analysis of contaminants, particularly spoilage microbes, impossible with existing inline monitoring techniques using microscopic imaging. It can be used as an alternative rapid label-free microbial test to the conventional offline cultivation methods which take several days. Moreover, this approach can distinguish between a number of microorganisms and test the viability, which other rapid tests, such as polymerase chain reaction, cannot.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.