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First Research Paper and ACA Featured Article of Professor Da-Wen Sun on Terahertz Imaging Applications Published

Friday, 13 August, 2021

A research paper entitled “(opens in a new window)A terahertz time-domain super-resolution imaging method using a local-pixel graph neural network for biological products” has just been published in Analytica Chimica Acta (Volume 1181, 9 October 2021, 338898). This is the first research paper of Professor Da-Wen Sun on terahertz imaging applications. Analytica Chimica Acta (ACA) is a leading peer-reviewed international journal in analytical chemistry with an impact factor of 6.558.

Terahertz (THz) wave occupies a relatively unexplored range of the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from 0.1 to 10 THz, which lies between the mid-infrared and microwave ranges, and THz waves offer innovative sensing and imaging technologies that can provide information unavailable through conventional methods. In this paper, a local pixel graph neural network method is developed for THz time-domain imaging super-resolution. The method only requires a small number of sample images for training and particularly focuses on THz feature frequencies, and can not only reconstruct the spatial details and the useful signals from high noise signals at high feature frequencies but can also operate super-resolution in both spatial and spectral aspects. Therefore, the method can be applied to the analysis of any heterogeneous biological products.

Professor Sun has a long history of researching and developing imaging techniques for food applications. He was among the earliest researchers to introduce the computer vision technique for food research and produced the 1st book in the world ((opens in a new window)Computer Vision Technology for Food Quality Evaluation, Elsevier, (opens in a new window)1st edition, 2008; (opens in a new window)2nd edition, 2016), he was also among the very first researchers internationally to utilize the hyperspectral imaging technique for food research and similarly published the 1st book in the globe ((opens in a new window)Hyperspectral Imaging for Food Quality Analysis and Control, Elsevier, 2010). He began to explore the feasibility of employing the terahertz imaging technique for food research about 5 years ago and soon later published a review paper on the topic: (opens in a new window)Emerging non-destructive terahertz spectroscopic imaging technique: principle and applications in the agri-food industry, Trends in Food Science & Technology, 67 (2017) 93–105.

In late 2019, Professor Sun purchased a terahertz imaging system, and with the commissioning of the system, research work on using the technique for food applications was then materialised and has since been continuing. It is expected that more research results on terahertz imaging should be published in the near future. 

The paper (opens in a new window)A terahertz time-domain super-resolution imaging method using a local-pixel graph neural network for biological products, Analytica Chimica Acta, 1181 (2021) 338898 can be downloaded free of charge by clicking (opens in a new window)here. This paper has been selected as the (opens in a new window)Featured Article in Volume 1181C of Analytica Chimica Acta with a cover date of 9 October 2021. You can access the cover by clicking (opens in a new window)here.

UCD Food Refrigeration & Computerised Food Technology

Food Refrigeration and Computerized Food Technology University College Dublin Agriculture & Food Science Centre Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
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