https://phys.org/news/2018-06-ai-driven-ultrafast-technology-visually-cells.html

In an article published in the June 15, 2018, issue of Science, the researchers demonstrated that Ghost Cytometry can sort at least two different types of cells with similar sizes and structures with very few misidentified cells. Ghost Cytometry can identify cells at a rate of more than 10,000 cells per second and sort cells into appropriate groups at a rate of multiple thousands of cells per second. Existing cell-sorting machines cannot distinguish between cell types with such similar appearances. Human experts using microscopy routinely identify and sort fewer than 10 cells per second, sometimes with less accuracy.

The Ghost Cytometry name refers to how the technique analyzes minimal light wave data without transforming any of that light data into a picture; it is image-free imaging technology. Current methods to identify different types of cells rely on microscope images of the cells, which are then classified by either a computer image recognition program or human observer. Relying on full images has made real-time, high-throughput cell sorting an elusive goal.