KHU Professor Developed next-generation Cell Imaging Technology

Next-generation cell imaging technology

Professor Won Gu Lee of the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed microscopic augmented reality patterns that relocate biological specimens.

Time-lapsed imaging plays a crucial role in the long-term monitoring of biological procedures and cultured cells. In the past, the process has involved culturing the specimen in an incubator and returning to the microscopic stage only for intermittent observation. This made it difficult to create images from the same target position in a frame-by-frame manner. By using the augmented reality patterns developed by Kyung Hee University Professor Won Gu Lee, researchers can now keep track of the original positions and the restored positions, allowing them to perform long-term live cell imaging on the region of interest. Lee’s findings were published in the June 2013 issue of Analyst, a journal of analytical and bioanalytical science published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom.

Follow-Up Research for Smart Phone Application
The next-generation cell imaging technology is made possible through the development of an augmented reality indicator and customized software. “This new technology enables long-term cell imaging in an easier, more accurate way without expensive cell-imaging equipment,” Professor Lee said. “The research findings can also be applied to basic cell cultures as well as lab-on-a-chip equipment.”

The research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), which is funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. Professor Lee worked jointly with Professor Hyunwoo Bang of Seoul National University and his research team to successfully conduct this project. As far as commercial application, Lee is conducting follow-up research to enable simultaneous, real-time cell imaging and image processing and analysis via a smart phone application.

From Academic Achievements To the Development of Society, Country, and the World
Since joining Kyung Hee in 2010, Professor Lee has sought to bolster its educational capacity and research efforts. He has been received the best professor award from the Korean government’s Advancement of College Education Program and Kyung Hee’s College of Engineering for three consecutive years.

Professor Lee tells his students, “We are living in this world together. The academic achievements of each individual should help resolve such issues as poverty, disease, and climate change, thereby making contributions to our society, country, and the world.” Recently, Lee advised a team of students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering that received the bronze medal in the 5th Creative Engineering Design Contest for the Underprivileged.