Towards Fast Quantum Cascade Laser Spectrometers for High-Throughput and Cost-Effective Disease Surveillance

Abstract

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, coupled with machine learning (ML) analysis can be used for disease monitoring with high speed and accuracy, including the classification of mosquito samples by species, age and malaria detection. However, current FTIR instruments use low-brightness thermal light sources to generate infrared light, which limits their ability to measure complex biological samples, especially where high spatial resolution is necessary, such as for specific mosquito tissues. Moreover, these systems lack portability, which is essential for field applications. To overcome these issues, spectrometers using quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have become an attractive alternative for building fast, and portable systems due to their high electrical-to-optical efficiency, small size, and potential for low-cost. Here, we present a QCL-based spectrometer prototype designed for large scale, low-cost, environmental field-based disease surveillance.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/spectroscj3010008
Divisions: College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > Aston Institute of Photonics Technology (AIPT)
College of Engineering & Physical Sciences
Aston University (General)
Funding Information: M.P.-B. was supported by the Lord Kelvin Adam Smith studentship from the University of Glasgow and Research Incentive Grant 2024. F.B. were supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) grant (Grant No. MR/P025501/1), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundati
Additional Information: Copyright © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Publication ISSN: 2813-446X
Data Access Statement: The original data presented in the study are openly available in Enlighten repository at https://researchdata.gla.ac.uk/1173/ (accessed on 4 February 2025). The code for reproducing the figures can be accessed at https://github.com/maurocolapso/QCL_Pazminoetal (accessed on 4 February 2025).
Last Modified: 31 Mar 2025 07:27
Date Deposited: 17 Mar 2025 13:16
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: https://www.mdp ... 2813-446X/3/1/8 (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2025-03-07
Published Online Date: 2025-03-07
Accepted Date: 2025-03-05
Authors: Pazmiño-Betancourth, Mauro
Boldin, Aleksandr
Ochoa-Gutierrez, Victor
Hogg, Richard A. (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-0781-6809)
Baldini, Francesco
González-Jiménez, Mario
Wynne, Klaas
Childs, David

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