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

该创新-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行业使用的过滤系统中的污染。该项目将开发一个在线监测系统，用于检测颗粒污染物（例如，在食品饮料生产线的无菌液体过滤系统中检测细菌、真菌等微生物（如细菌、真菌），以提供及时的过程分析，从而防止意外偏移和停机，同时保持24/7合规性。该方法可以很容易地适用于制药行业的应用，以及在外科手术/器官移植室的空气质量监测，石棉监测建筑工地等设想的系统是一个低成本，紧凑的设置，需要最少的维护，因为它可以保持校准多年。创业培训将提供给代表性不足的学生，包括美国土著和妇女。拟议的项目推进数字全息图像传感，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，以表征它们（例如，浓度、类型、活力）与单颗粒灵敏度。该方法可以实现污染物，特别是腐败微生物的实时，高通量分析，不可能与现有的在线监测技术使用显微成像。它可用作需要数天时间的传统离线培养方法的替代快速无标记微生物测试。此外，这种方法可以区分多种微生物，并测试其活力，这是其他快速测试，如聚合酶链反应，无法做到的。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.