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

这项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，用于检测食品和饮料生产线无菌液体过滤系统中的颗粒污染物（例如，细菌，真菌），以提供及时的过程分析，防止计划外的偏差和停机，同时保持24/7合规。该方法可适用于制药业、外科手术/器官移植室的空气质量监测、建筑工地的石棉监测等。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数年。创业培训将提供给代表性不足的学生，包括美国原住民和妇女。提议的项目推进了数字全息图像传感，以捕获三维样品量中的粒子衍射模式，以及基于机器学习的图像处理，以单粒子灵敏度表征它们（例如，浓度、类型、活力）。该方法可以实现污染物的实时、高通量分析，特别是腐败微生物，这是现有的使用显微成像的在线监测技术无法实现的。它可以作为一种快速无标签微生物测试替代传统的离线培养方法，需要几天的时间。此外，这种方法可以区分许多微生物并测试其生存能力，这是聚合酶链反应等其他快速测试所不能做到的。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，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.