title: Laser imaging for rapid Microbial Source Tracking.
abstract: DNA fingerprinting, PCR and other genomic technologies have recently been used to determine sources of fecal bacteria in waterways. Here, we report on the development of a simple and automated optical method for potential use in Microbial Source Tracking (MST) of E. coli. The method employs laser imaging of bacterial colonies and high-resolution optical scattering image analysis for information extraction and classification. Cross validation is used to statistically evaluate the robustness of the classifiers. The entire image analysis procedure can be fully automated, making this a potentially useful tool for future MST studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN 46323, USA. chen121@calumet.purdue.edu
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Prithviraj P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Patankar
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sadowsky
authors.forename: Charles C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tseng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D013997:Time Factors