Pillar Centroid Tracker for the Measurement of Protrusive Forces Generated by Hyphal Microorganisms

Elastomeric micropillars constitute a versatile sensor platform to investigate the forces exerted by microorganisms. Microfabricated to match the scale of the target organisms, the force imparted on a sensor pillar leads to a deflection of the pillar top, which can be recorded using optical microsco...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bishop, Haig, Tayagui, Ayelen, Sun, Yiling, Garrill, Ashley, Nock, Volker
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
automated circle tracking
elastomeric micropillar
Force
force sensor
image processing
Microorganisms
Microscopy
Optical microscopy
Optical recording
Software algorithms
software integration
Streaming media
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Summary:Elastomeric micropillars constitute a versatile sensor platform to investigate the forces exerted by microorganisms. Microfabricated to match the scale of the target organisms, the force imparted on a sensor pillar leads to a deflection of the pillar top, which can be recorded using optical microscopy. Knowing the height of the contact point, pillar dimensions and material properties, the deflection can be easily converted into a force value based on a simple bending and shear model for a cylinder. However, current software approaches developed to perform the pillar top tracking and conversion lack in automation and user-friendliness. In this paper we present a pillar centroid tracker (PCT) software tool which combines a specialised pillar tracking algorithm with general improvements to data processing steps, integrating all parts of the workflow into a single, streamlined application. We compare performance of the tool to existing approaches and showcase its operation by applying it to the example of protrusive force sensing in hyphal microorganisms.
ISSN:2151-2205
DOI:10.1109/IVCNZ61134.2023.10344304