Time efficient methods for scanning a fluorescent membrane with a fluorescent microscopic imager for the quality assurance of food

An important part of the quality assurance of meat is the estimation of germs in the meat exudes. The kind and the number of the germs in the meat affect the medical risk for the consumer of the meat. State-of-the-art analyses of meat are incubator test procedures. The main disadvantages of such incubator tests are the time consumption, the necessary equipment and the need of special skilled employees. These facts cause in high inspection cost. For this reason a new method for the quality assurance is necessary which combines low detection limits and less time consumption. One approach for such a new method is fluorescence microscopic imaging. The germs in the meat exude are caught in special membranes by body-antibody reactions. The germ typical signature could be enhanced with fluorescent chemical markers instead of reproduction of the germs. Each fluorescent marker connects with a free germ or run off the membrane. An image processing system is used to detect the number of fluorescent particles. Each fluorescent spot should be a marker which is connected with a germ. Caused by the small object sizes of germs, the image processing system needs a high optical magnification of the camera. However, this leads to a small field of view and a small depth of focus. For this reasons the whole area of the membrane has to be scanned in three dimensions. To minimize the time consumption, the optimal path has to be found. This optimization problem is influenced by features of the hardware and is presented in this paper. The traversing range in each direction, the step width, the velocity, the shape of the inspection volume and the field of view have influence on the optimal path to scan the membrane.