EVENT-BASED VISION ENABLES HIGH SPEED DETECTION AND TRACKING IN MICROFLUIDIC ANALYSIS

Up to 1.54 m/s 

fluid velocity

Down to 1µm 

 size of particle detected

20k fps  

 time resolution equivalent

Aided by Prophesee’s Metavision sensing technologies, researchers at the University of Glasgow, Heriot-Watt University and University of Strathclyde have discovered ways to leverage Event-Based Vision’s high-speed particle detection capabilities to perform microfluidic analysis. While significant improvements have been made to the tools needed for these types of studies, current imaging methods are limited in effectiveness and practicality for several reasons. In a recent study, researchers found Event-Based Vision could offer a cost-effective solution to the research community

Current imaging methods for particle image velocimetry often require expensive high-speed cameras with powerful illuminating sources, thus potentially limiting accessibility. Event-based cameras have the unique capacity to detect light intensity changes asynchronously and to record spatial and temporal information with low latency, low power and high dynamic range.”
Lab Chip, 2020, 20, 3024

MICRO PARTICLE TRACKING IN A MICROFLUIDIC DEVICE USING AN EVENT CAMERA

The study also found significant KPI improvements including enabling the profile of particles down to 1 µm, and a wide range of fluid velocities, up to 1.54 m/s. Enabled with the precision and efficiency (equivalent to 20,000 fps conventional cameras) of Prophesee’s Metavision platform, researchers can better understand the behavior of fluids and particles in microscopic channels.

The researchers hope the applications demonstrated will create new opportunities for innovation in industrial, medical, and life-science use cases.

Imaging in inertial focusing devices

A. Optical setup. B. Prophesee Event-Based Camera. C. Spiral channel used for focusing experiments recorded in the region of interest.

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW

 

Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world. They are one of the top 100 of the world’s universities. The University welcomes students from more than 140 countries worldwide and has around 29,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The University is a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK research universities and is home to The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, one of the leading university museums in the world. 

ABOUT HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY

 

Heriot-Watt University is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world’s first mechanics’ institute, and subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth oldest higher education institute in the UK. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot. Known for its focus on science and engineering, it is one of the 39 old universities in the UK comprising the second cluster of elite universities after Oxbridge. It has five campuses across the world: Edinburgh, Scottish Borders, Orkney, Dubai and Malaysia, as well as 53 Approved Learning Partners (ALPs) and educational collaborative partners in 150 countries.

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE

The University of Strathclyde is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow’s second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first technological university in the United Kingdom. Strathclyde is a research-intensive university. It is the only University to have won the Times Higher Education University of the Year award twice (2012 and 2019). It is one of the 39 old universities in the UK comprising the distinctive second cluster of elite universities after Oxbridge.

ABOUT PROPHESEE INVENTORS COMMUNITY

 

Since 2014, a network of researchers, start-ups and companies have shown incredible imagination and innovation using Prophesee’s neuromorphic vision technologies.

This has created an Event-Based Vision ecosystem of inventors sharing their work and ideas. Their creativity with Prophesee’s technologies inspires us.

We are gathering them here to inspire future inventors in turn, in the hope that, like the projects here, they create something new together and reveal the invisible.

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