Unmet Need
Particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), the tracking of objects’ position and velocity, has a wide variety of applications ranging from tracking air flow in order to analyze air quality, heat transfer, and energy consumption, to cardiac imaging (Sampath et al., Fu et al.). Current status quo solutions generally consist of cameras and lights which are fixed on the flow to be analyzed, and software to analyze the resulting images. These solutions suffer from restrictions on the concentration, shape, and size of objects that can be tracked that affect the number of applications and the quality of particle tracking that can be accomplished. Recent improvements in the concentration of particles that can be tracked are restricted to point, spherical, and same-sized objects. An improved solution would maintain tracking capabilities over a greater range of object geometries and sizes. Therefore, there is a strong need for such a solution to be developed to better accommodate the wide variety of PTV applications.
Technology Overview
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a device that can track a dense cloud of
objects in three dimensions with different sizes and shapes. Its unusual versatility with regard to these three parameters, size, shape, and concentration of objects, enable its use in a variety of particle tracking applications such as in medicine and industry.
Stage of Development
A functioning end user product has been developed.
Publication
Tan, S., Zhong, S. & Ni, R. 3D Lagrangian tracking of polydispersed bubbles at high image densities. Exp Fluids 64, 85 (2023).
