Fusarium fungi infestation causes Canadian grain producers a loss of almost $1 billion dollars per year. Fusarium fungi produce toxins, e.g., deoxynivalenol (DON) which cause toxic effects in animals and possibly humans. We will develop a portable hand-held hyperspectral imaging device to detect, in the field, Fusarium infestation in grains. We will also evaluate the applicability of spectroscopic Optical Coherence Tomography to accurately and quickly determine DON level in grains with high sensitivity (1 ppm to 10 ppm).

For project, the intern will assist with the development of a new software package for a product line of hyperspectral imaging devices for Channel Systems Inc, a developer of technologies for scientific and industrial imaging and measurement. The general purpose of this research is to implement mathematical, statistical, and chemometric tools as software algorithms in order to enhance quality of data and explore both qualitative and quantitative information contained in the hyperspectral data sets. The proposed research is two-fold.