Towards Fast Quantum Cascade Laser Spectrometers for High-Throughput and Cost-Effective Disease Surveillance

Mauro Pazmiño-Betancourth, Aleksandr Boldin, Victor Ochoa-Gutierrez, Richard A. Hogg, Francesco Baldini, Mario González-Jiménez, Klaas Wynne, David Childs

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, coupled with machine learning (ML) analysis can be used for disease monitoring with high speed and accuracy, including the classification of mosquito samples by species, age and malaria detection. However, current FTIR instruments use low-brightness thermal light sources to generate infrared light, which limits their ability to measure complex biological samples, especially where high spatial resolution is necessary, such as for specific mosquito tissues. Moreover, these systems lack portability, which is essential for field applications. To overcome these issues, spectrometers using quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have become an attractive alternative for building fast, and portable systems due to their high electrical-to-optical efficiency, small size, and potential for low-cost. Here, we present a QCL-based spectrometer prototype designed for large scale, low-cost, environmental field-based disease surveillance.
Original languageEnglish
Article number8
Number of pages10
JournalSpectroscopy Journal
Volume3
Issue number1
Early online date7 Mar 2025
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Mar 2025

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Data Access Statement

The original data presented in the study are openly available in Enlighten repository at https://researchdata.gla.ac.uk/1173/ (accessed on 4 February 2025). The code for reproducing the figures can be accessed at https://github.com/maurocolapso/QCL_Pazminoetal (accessed on 4 February 2025).

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