Current Technical Approaches Research Articles

Data-Driven Approaches for Energy Theft Detection: A Comprehensive Review

The transition to smart grids has served to transform traditional power systems into data-driven power systems. The purpose of this transition is to enable effective energy management and system reliability through an analysis that is centered on energy information. However, energy theft caused by vulnerabilities in the data collected from smart meters is emerging as a primary threat to the stability and profitability of power systems. Therefore, various methodologies have been proposed for energy theft detection (ETD), but many of them are challenging to use effectively due to the limitations of energy theft datasets. This paper provides a comprehensive review of ETD methods, highlighting the limitations of current datasets and technical approaches to improve training datasets and the ETD in smart grids. Furthermore, future research directions and open issues from the perspective of generative AI-based ETD are discussed, and the potential of generative AI in addressing dataset limitations and enhancing ETD robustness is emphasized.

Gluteal Fat Grafting Technique and Mortality Update Among Surveyed ABCS Surgeons

Background: The demand for gluteal fat grafting (colloquially known as Brazilian butt lift [BBL]) has seen a dramatic increase in the past decade. Brazilian butt lift has been the fastest-growing cosmetic procedure in the United States for several years. During this time, the incidence of pulmonary fat embolisms (PFEs) associated with this procedure has raised safety concerns. Several professional organizations have responded to these concerns with investigational reports to identify the causes and provide recommendations to decrease the mortality associated with this popular cosmetic procedure. Awareness and implementation of these safety recommendations have been a cornerstone to decreasing the mortality rate associated with gluteal fat grafting. Objectives: To provide a comparison of current technical approaches and a mortality update on gluteal fat grafting among surgical members from the American Board of Cosmetic Surgeons (ABCS) within the last 6 years. Also, to determine if specific technical changes in the manner this procedure is performed are improving safety. Methods: An online (emailed) survey regarding perioperative gluteal fat grafting techniques and postoperative outcomes performed by ABCS surgeons within the previous 3 years was collected in 2 different 3-year time frames. Initial data were collected in 2019 for the preceding 3 years 2016-2019. The survey was again repeated in 2022 to collect similar data as before from ABCS member years 2019-2021. The data, which included the total # of BBLs performed, incidence of major infection or fat emboli, cannula size, and injection methods details was compared for each 3-year period. Both sequential studies provided a comparison of the techniques employed as well as morbidity and mortality outcomes. Results: Sixty-four ABCS surgeons who reported performing BBLs responded to the survey in 2019 and reported performing a total of 22 800 (BBLs) gluteal fat grafting cases in a previous 3-year window from 2016 to 2018. More surgeons used a closed system peristaltic pump in the second part of the study as compared to the first (51% vs 22%) ( P < .01). Two cases required in-hospital treatment of infection in the first survey while zero cases were reported for the second survey period ( P = .07). Twenty-five of 64 (39%) reported injecting fat at least into superficial gluteal muscle during this earlier time frame. In this earliest study, there were 3 total cases of PFE reported (2 fatal PFEs and 1 nonfatal PFEs). In 2022, 85 ABCS surgeons who reported performing BBLs responded to the survey. Around 12 172 gluteal fat grafting cases were reported in the second 3-year study from 2019 to 2021 compared to 22 800 in the first study ( P < .01). There was a total of 34 972 BBLs during the entire 6-year study. Most surgeons (82 of the 85) in the second-phase 3-year study reported injecting fat “exclusively” above the muscle ( P < .01). There were no fatal and non-fatal PFEs reported in the follow-up 3-year study in 2022 of ABCS member data from 2019 to 2021 ( P = .03). Conclusions: The mortality report associated with gluteal fat grafting from this survey among surgical members of the ABCS suggests using the current safety recommendations proposed, including injection of fat in the subcutaneous layer only, have led to a decreased risk of PFEs associated with gluteal fat grafting. The mortality rate was zero (0 out of 12 800) when 96% were injecting above muscle only compared to a mortality rate of 1:11 400 (2 of 22 800 cases) when 39% of 22 800 BBLs performed had fat injected into muscle. While there were more BBLs performed during the earlier 3-year study ( P = .07). The mortality rate significantly decreased in the years when only a small minority of cases had fat injected into the muscle. This study adds to other existing literature from professional organizations’ reports on the safety of gluteal fat grafting using the proper safety measure and recommendations.

Digital approaches to construction compliance checking: Validating the suitability of an ecosystem approach to compliance checking

The lifecycle of the built environment is governed by complex regulations, requirements and standards. Ensuring compliance against these requirements is a complicated process, affecting the entire supply chain and often incurring significant costs, delay and uncertainty. Many of the processes, and elements within these processes, are formalised and supported by varying levels of digitisation and automation. This ranges from energy simulation, geometric checking, to building information modelling based checking.However, there are currently no unifying standards or integrating technology to tie regulatory efforts together to enable the widespread adoption of automated compliance processes. This has left many current technical approaches, while advanced and robust, isolated. However, the increasing maturity of asset datasets/information models, means that integration of data/tools is now feasible. This paper will propose and validate a new approach of solving the problem of automated compliance checking through the use of an ecosystem of compliance checking services.This work has identified a clear research gap. How automated compliance checking in the construction sector can move beyond sole reliance on BIM data, and tightly coupled integration with software tools, to provide an extensible enough system to integrate the current isolated software elements currently used within compliance checking processes.To test this approach, an architecture for an ecosystem of compliance services will be specified. To validate this architecture, a prototype version will be developed and validated against requirements derived from the weaknesses of current approaches.This validation has found that a distributed ecosystem can perform accurately and successfully, whilst providing advantages in terms of scalability and extensibility. This approach provides a route to the increased adoption of automated compliance checking, overcoming the issues of relying on one computer system/application to perform all aspects of this process.

Is High-Fidelity Important for Human-like Virtual Avatars in Human Computer Interactions?

Survey/review study Is High-Fidelity Important for Human-like Virtual Avatars in Human Computer Interactions? Qiongdan Cao , Hui Yu ,*, Paul Charisse , Si Qiao , and Brett Stevens 1 University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 2UP, UK * Correspondence: hui.yu@port.ac.uk Received: 2 March 2023 Accepted: 6 March 2023 Published: 27 March 2023 Abstract: As virtual avatars have become increasingly popular in recent years, current needs indicate that “interactivity” is crucial for inducing a positive response from users towards these avatars, especially in human computer interactions (HCI). This paper reviews recent works on high-fidelity human-like virtual avatars (e.g. high visual and motion fidelity) and discusses the critical question——“Is high-fidelity a positive choice for virtual avatars to achieve better interactions in HCI”. Furthermore, we summarise current technical approaches to developing those virtual avatars. We investigate the advantages and disadvantages of high-fidelity virtual avatars in different areas focusing on addressing the effect of motion, especially the upper body. Research shows that high-fidelity is a positive choice for virtual avatars, although it may depend on the application.

Current Technical Approaches to Study RNA–Protein Interactions in mRNAs and Long Non-Coding RNAs

It is commonly understood that RNA-binding proteins crucially determine the fate of their target RNAs. Vice versa, RNAs are becoming increasingly recognized for their functions in protein regulation and the dynamics of RNA-protein complexes. Long non-coding RNAs are emerging as potent regulators of proteins that exert unknown RNA-binding properties and moonlighting functions. A vast array of RNA- and protein-centric techniques have been developed for the identification of protein and RNA targets, respectively, including unbiased protein mass spectrometry and next-generation RNA sequencing as readout. Determining true physiological RNA and protein targets is challenging as RNA–protein interaction is highly dynamic, tissue- and cell-type-specific, and changes with the environment. Here I review current techniques for the analysis of RNA–protein interactions in living cells and in vitro. RNA-centric techniques are presented on the basis of cross-linking or the use of alternative approaches. Protein-centric approaches are discussed in combination with high-throughput sequencing. Finally, the impact of mutations in RNA–protein complexes on human disease is highlighted.

4D Printing of Hydrogels: Innovation in Material Design and Emerging Smart Systems for Drug Delivery.

Advancements in the material design of smart hydrogels have transformed the way therapeutic agents are encapsulated and released in biological environments. On the other hand, the expeditious development of 3D printing technologies has revolutionized the fabrication of hydrogel systems for biomedical applications. By combining these two aspects, 4D printing (i.e., 3D printing of smart hydrogels) has emerged as a new promising platform for the development of novel controlled drug delivery systems that can adapt and mimic natural physio-mechanical changes over time. This allows printed objects to transform from static to dynamic in response to various physiological and chemical interactions, meeting the needs of the healthcare industry. In this review, we provide an overview of innovation in material design for smart hydrogel systems, current technical approaches toward 4D printing, and emerging 4D printed novel structures for drug delivery applications. Finally, we discuss the existing challenges in 4D printing hydrogels for drug delivery and their prospects.

Economic and technical analysis of reusing second-life EV batteries in energy storage system

Increasing number of electric vehicles on road has led to issues of handling of accumulating retired batteries. From practices in many countries with such a trend, to use those second-life EV batteries in energy storage system is becoming popular for solving waste handling and power supply securing at the same time. Though technical feasibility has already been verified, economic feasibility still seems to question the foundation of such a solution. This paper focuses on the economic and technical analysis of this solution based on engineering experience, compares and analyses the current technical approach and overall performance of energy storage system based on reusing second-life EV batteries, forecasts future technical trend and economic perspective of such system based on possible technical improvement and business mode of the market. At last, this paper gives a summary of how this special crossed industry could develop to a healthier cycling economy based on analysis above.

Engineering Stress in Thin Films: An Innovative Pathway Toward 3D Micro and Nanosystems.

Transformation of conventional 2D platforms into unusual 3D configurations provides exciting opportunities for sensors, electronics, optical devices, and biological systems. Engineering material properties or controlling and modulating stresses in thin films to pop-up 3D structures out of standard planar surfaces has been a highly active research topic over the last decade. Implementation of 3D micro and nanoarchitectures enables unprecedented functionalities including multiplexed, monolithic mechanical sensors, vertical integration of electronics components, and recording of neuron activities in 3D organoids. This paper provides an overview on stress engineering approaches to developing 3D functional microsystems. The paper systematically presents the origin of stresses generated in thin films and methods to transform a 2D design into an out-of-plane configuration. Different types of 3D micro and nanostructures, along with their applications in several areas are discussed. The paper concludes with current technical challenges and potential approaches and applications of this fast-growing research direction.

Laboratory investigation on the use of recycled materials in bituminous mixtures for dense-graded wearing course

Reduce, recycle and reuse of materials are the three crucial procedures that affect the economy of the current century, which are mandatory in preserving and protecting the planet for the next generations. In this field, the construction of road pavements plays fundamental role since huge amount of materials are involved, particularly the bituminous mixtures. This is the reason why the efforts of the scientific community were, and still are, addressed to investigate alternative pavement solutions in which recycled and reused materials, which mostly come from end-of-life pavement removal, can be included with the goal of reducing landfill operations. Moreover, a lot of these efforts were directed to reuse of recycled materials in producing bituminous mixtures for structural pavement layers, and not to the wearing course. Therefore, in order to be a step ahead of the current technical and scientific approaches, this research focused on the study of the effects of the concurrent use of reclaimed asphalt (RA), stabilized bottom ashes (SBA) from urban waste incinerators, and waste engine oil (WEO) in substitution of commercial rejuvenators. Moreover, the benefits deriving from the use of polymer additives were assessed. In this regard, a set of compaction, volumetric and mechanical tests were performed at laboratory scale, demonstrating that it is possible to use high amounts of RA (20 % and 60 %) in bituminous mixtures for wearing courses, also combined with SBAs and WEO. More in detail, the obtained results demonstrate that: both RA and SBAs generally increase mixtures’ stiffness (as confirmed by stiffness Master Curves and Indirect Tensile Strength results); SBA can be used as artificial aggregates; and WEO is able to act as fluxing agent to obtain mixture’s viscosity reduction.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis at 7.0 Tesla.

The overall goal of this article is to demonstrate a state-of-the-art ultrahigh field (UHF) magnetic resonance (MR) protocol of the brain at 7.0 Tesla in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. MS is a chronic inflammatory, demyelinating, neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by white and gray matter lesions. Detection of spatially and temporally disseminated T2-hyperintense lesions by the use of MRI at 1.5 T and 3 T represents a crucial diagnostic tool in clinical practice to establish accurate diagnosis of MS based on the current version of the 2017 McDonald criteria. However, the differentiation of MS lesions from brain white matter lesions of other origins can sometimes be challenging due to their resembling morphology at lower magnetic field strengths (typically 3 T). Ultrahigh field MR (UHF-MR) benefits from increased signal-to-noise ratio and enhanced spatial resolution, both key to superior imaging for more accurate and definitive diagnoses of subtle lesions. Hence, MRI at 7.0 T has shown encouraging results to overcome the challenges of MS differential diagnosis by providing MS-specific neuroimaging markers (e.g., central vein sign, hypointense rim structures and differentiation of MS grey matter lesions). These markers and others can be identified by other MR contrasts other than T1 and T2 (T2*, phase, diffusion) and substantially improve the differentiation of MS lesions from those occurring in other neuroinflammatory conditions such as neuromyelitis optica and Susac syndrome. In this article, we describe our current technical approach to study cerebral white and grey matter lesions in MS patients at 7.0 T using different MR acquisition methods. The up-to-date protocol includes the preparation of the MR setup including the radio-frequency coils customized for UHF-MR, standardized screening, safety and interview procedures with MS patients, patient positioning in the MR scanner and acquisition of dedicated brain scans tailored for examining MS.

Close-to-nature restoration of degraded alpine grasslands: Theoretical basis and technical approach

The alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau, which account for about 40% of the total grassland area in China, serve as an important ecological barrier to protect China’s water resources and for ecological security. Although the vegetation activity of alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau has been overall improving during the past decades, most of the grasslands are still suffering from varying degrees of degradation, with some part even deteriorating. In the present protection and construction of ecological barriers on the Tibetan Plateau, the restoration of the degraded alpine grasslands through current technical approaches often end up with low stability and sustainability, and the ecosystem multifunctionality and multiserviceability of the grasslands are often difficult to be fully recovered. This is mainly because the present approaches rarely draw support from the natural restoration processes, along with the technical limitations of optimizing the assembly and supplementary sowing with appropriate native grass species that are often rare, and of improving soil quality using microbial fertilizer and nutrients. Therefore, it is urgent to develop an effective and sustainable restoration approach of the degraded alpine grasslands. The primary tasks of close-to-nature restoration with ecological conservation as its premise focuses on maintaining biodiversity and enhancing ecosystem multifunctionality and multiserviceability. Close-to-nature restoration adopts traditional artificial restoration approaches and relies on natural ecological processes to achieve sustainable ecological restoration. It focuses on “based on nature” and “return to nature”, and realizes sustainable restoration through the self-regulating function of natural ecosystem. Therefore, ecosystems that are restored through close-to-nature restoration may maintain higher biodiversity, provide more ecosystem functions and services, and increase resilience to natural disasters. This paper proposes to apply the close-to-nature restoration to recover degraded alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau, and addresses why it is a natural choice on the basis of ecological theories with respect to biodiversity and the multi-functionality and multiserviceability of ecosystems, as well as the uniqueness of alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau. Based on this, this paper further proposes that seed multiplication, and assembly and supplementary sowing technology of native grassland species are the bottlenecks to the close-to-nature restoration of alpine grasslands, and that the combination of soil nutrients and microbial regulation is an essential supplementary measure. This study, which integrates the theory of close-to-nature restoration and the corresponding techniques, hopefully can provide a nature-based solution for the restoration of the degraded alpine grassland ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau.

Principles and applications of multienergy CT: Report of AAPM Task Group 291.

In x-ray computed tomography (CT), materials with different elemental compositions can have identical CT number values, depending on the mass density of each material and the energy of the detected x-ray beam. Differentiating and classifying different tissue types and contrast agents can thus be extremely challenging. In multienergy CT, one or more additional attenuation measurements are obtained at a second, third or more energy. This allows the differentiation of at least two materials. Commercial dual-energy CT systems (only two energy measurements) are now available either using sequential acquisitions of low- and high-tube potential scans, fast tube-potential switching, beam filtration combined with spiral scanning, dual-source, or dual-layer detector approaches. The use of energy-resolving, photon-counting detectors is now being evaluated on research systems. Irrespective of the technological approach to data acquisition, all commercial multienergyCT systems circa 2020provide dual-energy data. Material decomposition algorithms are then used to identify specific materials according to their effective atomic number and/or to quantitate mass density. These algorithms are applied to either projection or image data. Since 2006, a number of clinical applications have been developed for commercial release, including those that automatically (a) remove the calciumsignal from bony anatomy and/or calcified plaque; (b) create iodine concentration maps from contrast-enhanced CT data and/or quantify absolute iodine concentration; (c) create virtual non-contrast-enhanced images from contrast-enhanced scans; (d) identify perfused blood volume in lung parenchyma or the myocardium; and (e) characterize materials according to their elemental compositions, which can allow in vivo differentiation between uric acid and non-uric acid urinary stones or uric acid (gout) or non-uric acid (calcium pyrophosphate) deposits in articulating joints and surrounding tissues. In this report, the underlying physical principles of multienergy CT are reviewed and each of the current technical approaches are described. In addition, current and evolving clinical applications are introduced. Finally, the impact of multienergy CT technology on patient radiation dose is summarized.

High-Resolution and Wide-Swath SAR Imaging Mode Using Frequency Diverse Planar Array

The challenging problem to realize high-resolution and wide-swath (HRWS) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging is the ambiguity suppression in the azimuth and range directions. According to the spatial angle difference of each ambiguity component, the current technical approach is to design the spatial filter for achieving the ambiguity suppression based on the 2-D multichannel system. Along with the increasing of HRWS imaging requirements, the number of system channels also gradually increase and further result in the complex structure design of the phased array antenna system. Meanwhile, the traditional phased array antenna cannot effectively control the direction of the transmit beampattern in range. Unlike the traditional phased array, frequency diverse array (FDA) employs a small-frequency increment across the whole array elements and forms the range-angle-dependent S-shaped transmit beampattern, which can be utilized to separate the different range ambiguous region. Considering the above-mentioned characteristics and the range periodicity problem of transmit beampattern, this letter devises a scheme for spaceborne SAR HRWS imaging mode in the view of transmit beampattern utilizing 2-D planar array, i.e., the FDA in azimuth for removing the range nonperiodicity ambiguity and the conventional phased array in elevation for removing the range periodicity ambiguity. Simulation results have been presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Summary of Practice Considerations for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Left Main Bifurcation Disease.

Left main bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention is a challenging subset that requires expertise in techniques that are in constant modification. Imaging is important in lesion preparation and optimising outcomes. The interventionalist needs to be highly skilled in the different techniques, as missteps may lead to stent thrombosis and critical in-stent restenosis. Lesion classification between simple and complex identifies those who would best benefit from a two-stent technique. Current technical approaches and practice considerations are summarised in this manuscript.

Theranostic Strategy of Focused Ultrasound Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Opening for CNS Disease Treatment.

Focused Ultrasound (FUS) in combination with gaseous microbubbles has emerged as a potential new means of effective drug delivery to the brain. Recent research has shown that, under burst-type energy exposure with the presence of microbubbles, this modality can transiently permeate the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The bioavailability of therapeutic agents is site-specifically augmented only in the zone where the FUS energy is targeted. The non-invasiveness of this approach makes FUS-induced BBB opening a novel and attractive means to perform localized CNS therapeutic agent delivery. Over the past decade, FUS-BBB opening has been preclinically confirmed to successfully enhance CNS penetration of therapeutic agents including chemotherapeutic agents, therapeutic peptides, monoclonal antibodies, and nanoparticles. Recently, a number of clinical human trials have begun to explore clinical utility. This review article, explores this technology through its physical mechanisms, summarizes the existing preclinical findings (including current medical device designs and technical approaches), and summarizes current ongoing clinical trials.

Analysis of Blockchain Solutions for IoT: A Systematic Literature Review

The Internet of Things (IoT) aims at connecting things to the Internet in a peer-to-peer paradigm for data collecting and data sharing in our daily life. A blockchain is an immutable append-only ledger maintained by a peer-to-peer network, where the whole network needs to reach a consensus on the transactional data stored on the ledger. With the decentralization nature, the design of IoT and blockchain aligns with each other well. Blockchain has been integrated with the IoT to solve the existing IoT problems. Our research focuses on analyzing the solutions proposed in academia and the methodologies used to integrate blockchain with the IoT. Through conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) on peer-reviewed, published articles on blockchain-based solutions for IoT, we gather the knowledge on current technical approaches implemented to integrate blockchain into the IoT. Majority of the research in this space is either at a conceptual level or at a very early stage. However, we only found 35 published papers with the real implementation of blockchain in the IoT platforms. We elicit the challenges of the IoT that were being addressed, and the detailed design of the blockchain-based solutions from two perspectives, namely data management and thing management. The evaluation methods and metrics used by those works are also being recorded and analyzed. In addition to the analysis of the literature, we provide our insights on improving the existing solutions and research methodology based on our expertise and experience on the blockchain.

Current technical approaches to brain energy metabolism.

Neuroscience is a technology-driven discipline and brain energy metabolism is no exception. Once satisfied with mapping metabolic pathways at organ level, we are now looking to learn what it is exactly that metabolic enzymes and transporters do and when, where do they reside, how are they regulated, and how do they relate to the specific functions of neurons, glial cells, and their subcellular domains and organelles, in different areas of the brain. Moreover, we aim to quantify the fluxes of metabolites within and between cells. Energy metabolism is not just a necessity for proper cell function and viability but plays specific roles in higher brain functions such as memory processing and behavior, whose mechanisms need to be understood at all hierarchical levels, from isolated proteins to whole subjects, in both health and disease. To this aim, the field takes advantage of diverse disciplines including anatomy, histology, physiology, biochemistry, bioenergetics, cellular biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, neurology, and mathematical modeling. This article presents a well-referenced synopsis of the technical side of brain energy metabolism research. Detail and jargon are avoided whenever possible and emphasis is given to comparative strengths, limitations, and weaknesses, information that is often not available in regular articles.

Precision Oncology and "Molecular Tumor Boards" - Concepts, Chances and Challenges

Recent developments in genomics allow a more and more comprehensive genetic analysis of human malignancies, and have sparked hopes that this will contribute to the development of novel targeted, effective and well-tolerated therapies.While targeted therapies have improved the prognosis of many cancer patients with certain tumor types, "precision oncology" also brings along new challenges. Highly personalized treatment strategies require new strategies for clinical trials and translation into routine clinical practice. We review the current technical approaches for "universal genetic testing" in cancer, and potential pitfalls in the interpretation of such data. We then provide an overview of the available evidence supporting treatment strategies based on extended genetic analysis. Based on the available data, we conclude that "precision oncology" approaches that go beyond the current standard of care should be pursued within the framework of an interdisciplinary "molecular tumor board", and preferably within clinical trials.

Coronary CT Angiography-derived Fractional Flow Reserve.

Invasive coronary angiography (ICA) with measurement of fractional flow reserve (FFR) by means of a pressure wire technique is the established reference standard for the functional assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD) ( 1 , 2 ). Coronary computed tomographic (CT) angiography has emerged as a noninvasive method for direct assessment of CAD and plaque characterization with high diagnostic accuracy compared with ICA ( 3 , 4 ). However, the solely anatomic assessment provided with both coronary CT angiography and ICA has poor discriminatory power for ischemia-inducing lesions. FFR derived from standard coronary CT angiography (FFRCT) data sets by using any of several advanced computational analytic approaches enables combined anatomic and hemodynamic assessment of a coronary lesion by a single noninvasive test. Current technical approaches to the calculation of FFRCT include algorithms based on full- and reduced-order computational fluid dynamic modeling, as well as artificial intelligence deep machine learning ( 5 , 6 ). A growing body of evidence has validated the diagnostic accuracy of FFRCT techniques compared with invasive FFR. Improved therapeutic guidance has been demonstrated, showing the potential of FFRCT to streamline and rationalize the care of patients suspected of having CAD and improve outcomes while reducing overall health care costs ( 7 , 8 ). The purpose of this review is to describe the scientific principles, clinical validation, and implementation of various FFRCT approaches, their precursors, and related imaging tests. © RSNA, 2017.

Current Technical Approaches for the Early Detection of Foodborne Pathogens: Challenges and Opportunities

The development of novel and high-tech solutions for rapid, accurate, and non-laborious microbial detection methods is imperative to improve the global food supply. Such solutions have begun to address the need for microbial detection that is faster and more sensitive than existing methodologies (e.g., classic culture enrichment methods). Multiple reviews report the technical functions and structures of conventional microbial detection tools. These tools, used to detect pathogens in food and food homogenates, were designed via qualitative analysis methods. The inherent disadvantage of these analytical methods is the necessity for specimen preparation, which is a time-consuming process. While some literature describes the challenges and opportunities to overcome the technical issues related to food industry legal guidelines, there is a lack of reviews of the current trials to overcome technological limitations related to sample preparation and microbial detection via nano and micro technologies. In this review, we primarily explore current analytical technologies, including metallic and magnetic nanomaterials, optics, electrochemistry, and spectroscopy. These techniques rely on the early detection of pathogens via enhanced analytical sensitivity and specificity. In order to introduce the potential combination and comparative analysis of various advanced methods, we also reference a novel sample preparation protocol that uses microbial concentration and recovery technologies. This technology has the potential to expedite the pre-enrichment step that precedes the detection process.