New approaches for Accurate Spectroscopic and MorphologicAl measurements in Biological applications
Photonics, identified as a key digital technology in Horizon Europe and as a deep tech driving the next great wave of innovation, produces ground breaking scientific discoveries and will be crucial for maintaining and increasing the future competitiveness of the EU industry. Among others, photonics contributes to health through biomedical photonics by developing light-based technologies that are fundamental for non-invasive diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In addition, precision agriculture, which is the practice of a "smart agriculture" that measures and controls the crops status through new technologies to drive more efficient agricultural practices, also benefits from photonic sensors. In these regards, farmers are increasingly gaining awareness of the importance of monitoring and maintaining direct control of fundamental aspects of the crops to optimize resources and maximizing yield while minimizing costs and environmental impact. In this framework, NASMABio intends to address some specific problems with the use of multimodal photonic-based tools and Deep Learning (DL) in the areas of health and agriculture.
The project involves developing new approaches to retrieve accurate spectroscopic information of biological samples using active Multi/HyperSpectral Imaging (MSI/HSI) and DL for:
(i) Improving the diagnosis of ocular diseases affecting the fundus in which the use of precise spectral information to discriminate among different structures of the biological tissue is particularly critical and difficult to measure due to opacities in the pre-retinal media (e.g., an eye with a cataract as well as with diabetic retinopathy) among other factors;
(ii) Developing novel methods for reliable in-field spectral reflectance assessment of the vegetation, important when it comes to correctly monitoring the crops status (water stress evaluation, diseases detection, etc.) and difficult to quantify owing to the spatiotemporal variability in ambient lighting conditions; this being relevant for integrated crop management (e.g., optimizing crop irrigation).
The project goals also involve the application of photonic technologies, especially 3D imaging modalities, and DL for the morphological characterization of: (i) skin lesions and (ii) the crop canopy. In the first case, some recent literature suggests that the use of morphological information measured using optical 3D scanners, combined with other technologies such as MSI or even DL, might improve the non-invasive diagnosis of skin cancer, since biopsy is a costly and time-consuming surgical procedure still used as the gold standard; whereas in the second case, knowledge of structural characteristics of the canopy (e.g., leaf area, density, height and width) is necessary for feeding the implementation of appropriate canopy management strategies and to optimize the application and dosage of plant protection products, i.e. pesticides, for integrated pest and disease management through smart farming technologies aiming at reducing their negative impact. In this case, currently employed techniques still face important challenges that need to be addressed to provide reliable structural data. NASMABio brings together a multidisciplinary team with complementary expertise in photonics and data analysis, clinical practice and validation of diagnostic tools, and precision agriculture, ensuring the successful realization of the project.
Grant PID2023-147541OB-I00 funded by MCIU /AEI /10.13039/501100011033 / FEDER, UE.
The project involves developing new approaches to retrieve accurate spectroscopic information of biological samples using active Multi/HyperSpectral Imaging (MSI/HSI) and DL for:
(i) Improving the diagnosis of ocular diseases affecting the fundus in which the use of precise spectral information to discriminate among different structures of the biological tissue is particularly critical and difficult to measure due to opacities in the pre-retinal media (e.g., an eye with a cataract as well as with diabetic retinopathy) among other factors;
(ii) Developing novel methods for reliable in-field spectral reflectance assessment of the vegetation, important when it comes to correctly monitoring the crops status (water stress evaluation, diseases detection, etc.) and difficult to quantify owing to the spatiotemporal variability in ambient lighting conditions; this being relevant for integrated crop management (e.g., optimizing crop irrigation).
The project goals also involve the application of photonic technologies, especially 3D imaging modalities, and DL for the morphological characterization of: (i) skin lesions and (ii) the crop canopy. In the first case, some recent literature suggests that the use of morphological information measured using optical 3D scanners, combined with other technologies such as MSI or even DL, might improve the non-invasive diagnosis of skin cancer, since biopsy is a costly and time-consuming surgical procedure still used as the gold standard; whereas in the second case, knowledge of structural characteristics of the canopy (e.g., leaf area, density, height and width) is necessary for feeding the implementation of appropriate canopy management strategies and to optimize the application and dosage of plant protection products, i.e. pesticides, for integrated pest and disease management through smart farming technologies aiming at reducing their negative impact. In this case, currently employed techniques still face important challenges that need to be addressed to provide reliable structural data. NASMABio brings together a multidisciplinary team with complementary expertise in photonics and data analysis, clinical practice and validation of diagnostic tools, and precision agriculture, ensuring the successful realization of the project.
Grant PID2023-147541OB-I00 funded by MCIU /AEI /10.13039/501100011033 / FEDER, UE.