Particle detection and size recognition based on defocused particle images: a comparison of a deterministic algorithm and a deep neural network

Abstract

The systematic manipulation of components of multimodal particle solutions is a key for the design of modern industrial products and pharmaceuticals with highly customized properties. In order to optimize innovative particle separation devices on microfluidic scales, a particle size recognition with simultaneous volumetric position determination is essential. In the present study, the astigmatism particle tracking velocimetry is extended by a deterministic algorithm and a deep neural network (DNN) to include size classification of particles of multimodal size distribution. Without any adaptation of the existing measurement setup, a reliable classification of bimodal particle solutions in the size range of 1.14~upmu hbox {m}–5.03~upmu hbox {m} is demonstrated with a precision of up to 99.9 %. Concurrently, the high detection rate of the particles, suspended in a laminar fluid flow, is quantified by a recall of 99.0 %. By extracting particle images from the experimentally acquired images and placing them on a synthetic background, semi-synthetic images with consistent ground truth are generated. These contain labeled overlapping particle images that are correctly detected and classified by the DNN. The study is complemented by employing the presented algorithms for simultaneous size recognition of up to four particle species with a particle diameter in between 1.14~upmu hbox {m} and 5.03~upmu hbox {m}. With the very high precision of up to 99.3 % at a recall of 94.8 %, the applicability to classify multimodal particle mixtures even in dense solutions is confirmed. The present contribution thus paves the way for quantitative evaluation of microfluidic separation and mixing processes.