Optics and AI Find Viruses Faster
Published:20 Oct.2023 Source:Optica
Yuzhu Li from Ozcan Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), will present this research at Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science (FiO LS), which will be held 9 -- 12 October 2023 at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center in Tacoma (Greater Seattle Area), Washington.
"By cutting down the detection time compared to traditional viral plaque assays, this technique might help expedite vaccine and drug development research by significantly reducing the detection time needed and eliminating chemical staining and manual counting entirely, explains Li. "In the event of a new virus outbreak, vaccines or antiviral treatments could be developed, tested, and made available to the public at a significantly accelerated rate, resulting in a faster response time to virus-induced health emergencies."
Although the viral plaque assay is a cost-effective way to assess virus infectivity and quantify the amount of a virus in a sample, it is time consuming to perform. Samples are first diluted and then added to cultured cells. If the virus kills the infected cells, a region free of cells -- a plaque -- develops. Experts then manually count the stained plaque-forming units (PFUs), a process that is susceptible to staining irregularities and human counting errors.
The new stain-free automated viral plaque assay system replaces manual plaque counting with a lens-free holographic imaging system that images the spatiotemporal features of PFUs during incubation. A deep learning algorithm is then used to detect, classify and locate PFUs based on changes observed.