High-speed autonomous imaging system for the analysis of algae and other phytoplankton using acoustic technologies

该博士将先进的超声波技术[1]与海洋环境远程监测的专业知识结合起来，开发了一种用于浮游植物自主监测的新系统。工程学和海洋科学之间的相互作用需要在一系列学科中工作的热情。监测浮游植物的数量对于了解、保护和管理海洋和淡水环境的健康以及确定产生生物毒素的物种对人类健康的风险至关重要。现有的技术通常需要采样，通常是从偏远或危险的环境中进行，需要漫长的样品制备和费力的分析方法来识别和量化物种，因此对解决这些问题的新的商业系统的需求很高。沿海沃茨水域特别需要此类技术，因为有毒藻类的大量繁殖会导致海洋生物大规模死亡并威胁公众健康。博士将开发一种新的超声波技术，将数千个浮游植物细胞聚焦到相机系统的成像平面上。与计算机视觉系统相结合，这将打开成像细胞仪的可能性，该成像细胞仪可以使用最先进的海洋自主系统（包括无人水面车辆（USV）和自主水下车辆（AUV））部署在广泛的环境中。

This PhD brings together advanced ultrasonic technologies [1] with expertise in remote monitoring of the marine environment to develop a novel system for the autonomous monitoring of phytoplankton. The interplay between engineering and ocean science requires enthusiasm to work across a range of disciplines.Monitoring populations of phytoplankton is crucial for understanding, protecting and managing the health of marine and freshwater environments, and identifying risks to human health from bio-toxin-producing species. Existing technologies typically require sampling, often from remote or hazardous environments, lengthy sample preparation and laborious analysis methods to identify and quantify species, and there is high demand for new commercial systems that address these issues. There is particular need for this type of technology in coastal waters where blooms of toxic algal species cause mass mortalities amongst marine life and threaten public health. The PhD will develop a novel ultrasonic technology to focus thousands of phytoplankton cells into the imaging plane of a camera system. Coupled with a computer vision system, this will open the possibility of an imaging cytometer that can be deployed in a wide range of environments using state of the art marine autonomous systems including unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).