Heartbeat Imaging Offers New Insight Into Oyster Freshness
Monitoring the vitality of shellfish during cold storage is critical for ensuring seafood quality, yet conventional methods remain invasive, subjective, and slow. In a new study, researchers unveil a groundbreaking, non-destructive technique to assess oyster health by analyzing heartbeat patterns through high-resolution image processing. By monitoring cardiac activity and biochemical markers such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and pH in Pacific oysters over 14 days of refrigerated storage, the team uncovered distinct cardiac signatures that closely tracked vitality loss. These findings suggest that visualizing heart rhythms offers a sensitive, real-time tool for detecting physiological decline--providing a practical, scalable solution for seafood quality assurance.