Flow Cytometry Based on Serial Time-Encoded Amplified Microscopy

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Jost Adam
• Subject Area: Electronic Semiconductors, Components and Circuits, Integrated Systems, Sensor Technology, Theoretical Electrical Engineering ; Measurement Systems
• Term: from 2011 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 194100573

In medicine, particularly in pathology and hematology, the issue of detecting rare diseased cells within a huge cell population is gaining importance. Hence, high-throughput imaging techniques are required. Moreover, it should be possible to be make a diagnosis in a minimal-invasive way. In particular, a label-free detection of rogue cells is demanded. Therefore very high image resolutions are required. An Imaging system, which comprises a sufficient combination of throughput and sensibility, lies beyond the contemporary limitations of imaging-sensor technology. Micro-fluidic approaches, especially the so-called flow cytometry, enable a fast and controlled cell flow for cell analysis. However, state-of-the-art CMOS- or CCD-sensor-microscopy coupled flow cytometers are not fast enough to rapidly sift large cell populations with sufficient statistical accuracy. A novel imaging technique, namely the serial time-encoded amplified microscopy (STEAM), which was recently developed and validated at the Photonics Laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), may overcome this problem. STEAM provides a high spatial resolution combined with a temporal resolution up to two orders of magnitude higher than the speed of CMOS- and CCD-based imaging systems. Within the scope of the proposed research project STEAM shall be combined with a fast flow cytometer. The missing crucial component to a successful realization is an efficient image pattern recognition technique. With respect to a sufficiently fast and accurate overall system for rogue cell detection, several optical and numerical pattern recognition techniques shall be implemented into STEAM and shall be tested for efficiency. The proposed research project shall be carried out in cooperation with the Photonics Laboratory at UCLA.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Bahram Jalali, Ph.D.