3ders.org - UCLA researchers combine 3D printing with machine learning to develop medical sensors

The technique of machine learning, where an algorithm makes predictions based on the data it processes without being explicitly programmed, is an important and wide-reaching area of computing. So the prospect of merging machine learning with 3D printing, as can be seen in a new project by researchers at UCLA, is definitely an exciting one. Using a 3D printed prototype detector with a sensor that can be modified by machine learning techniques, the researchers have demonstrated a new, more efficient way to detect tiny items such as cancer biomarkers, viruses, and proteins. This could improve the treatment and diagnosis of serious infections and diseases. Plasmonic sensing has been used in medical research for years, in order to gather information about the composition of things at a sub-microscopic level.