Main areas of research
I'm involved in a wide variety of research. These can be roughly grouped as follows:
- 3D microscopy image visualisation and analysis
- Virtual Reality applications
-
Machine learning with a focus on deep neural networks applied to image processing problems
- Human Pose-Estimation
- Face Recognition
- Internet of Things (IoT) applications
A mini showcase of my work can be found here.
Publications
Journal Publications
| # | Paper | Print (DOI) | Pre-P (Open) | Data/ Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Langeveld H, Maepa K, Maree M, Thibaud JL, Salomane N, Bridgwater R, Famodimu MT, Godoy LC, Pasaje CFA, Boonyalai N, Laureano de Souza M, Fong J, Rabie T, van der Watt M, Theart RP, Ghidelli-Disse S, Niles JC, Lee MCS, Winzeler EA, Delves MJ, Chibale K, Wicht KJ, Coulson LB, Birkholtz L-M. Targeting Aurora Kinases as Essential Cell-Cycle Regulators to Deliver Multi-Stage Antimalarials Against Plasmodium Falciparum. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 2025 Oct 23:e202518493. | Link | Link | |
| 19 | de Wet S, Theart R, Loos B, McQuibban GA. Understanding the Changes in Mitochondrial Morphology through Dynamic and Three-dimensional Fluorescence Micrographs. J. Vis. Exp. 2025;222:e68478. | Link | Video | |
| 18 | Schreuder C-M, Theart RP. Robust stereo calibration for improved 2D-3D projection in real-world pose estimation. Multimedia Tools and Applications 2025. | Link | Data Code |
|
| 17 | Schreuder C-M, Bergh O, Steyn L, Theart RP. SUMediPose: A 2D-3D Pose Estimation Dataset. Data in Brief 2025; (111579). | Link | Data | |
| 16 | Appel A, Theart RP. Investigating the Design of a Photoplethysmography Device for Vital Sign Monitoring. Sensors 2025; 25(6), 1875. | Link | Data | |
| 15 | Laubscher H, Loos B, Theart RP. Engage and learn: Improved learning of cellular structures using a virtual reality-based learning experience. Computers & Education: X Reality. 2024; Volume 5:100089. | Link | Video | |
| 14 | Biggs DR, Theart RP, Schreve K. Sub-window inference: A novel approach for improved sheep counting in high-density aerial images. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 2024;225:109271 | Link | Data | |
| 13 | Mbatha, SK, Booysen, MJ, Theart, RP. Skin Tone Estimation under Diverse Lighting Conditions. J. Imaging. 2024; 10(5):109 | Link | Link | |
| 12 | de Wet S, Theart R, Loos B. Cogs in the autophagic machine—equipped to combat dementia-prone neurodegenerative diseases. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. 2023 Aug 31. | Link | ||
| 11 | Buchanan E, Mahony C, Bam S, Jaffer M, Macleod S, Mangali A, van der Watt M, de Wet S, Theart R, Jacobs C, Loos B. Propionic acid induces alterations in mitochondrial morphology and dynamics in SH-SY5Y cells. Scientific Reports. 2023 Aug 15;13(1):13248. | Link | ||
| 10 | de Wet S, Mangali A, Batt R, Kriel J, Vahrmeijer N, Niehaus D, Theart R, Loos B. The Highs and Lows of Memantine—An Autophagy and Mitophagy Inducing Agent That Protects Mitochondria. Cells. 2023 Jun 27;12(13):1726. | Link | ||
| 9 | Muthua AG, Theart RP, Booysen MJ. Using infrared to improve face recognition of individuals with highly pigmented skin. iScience. 2023 Jun 8. | Link | Link | |
| 8 | Biggs DR, Theart RP, Schreve K. Improving object counting in aerial images with density-based threshold shifting. International Journal of Remote Sensing. 2023 May 26:1-8. | Link | Link | |
| 7 | De Villiers JG, Theart RP Predicting mitochondrial fission, fusion and depolarisation event locations from a single z-stack. PLoS ONE 8 Mar 2023;18(3): e0271151. | Link | Link | Link |
| 6 | Robertson GL, Riffle S, Patel M, Bodnya C, Marshall A, Beasley HK, Garza-Lopez E, Shao J, Vue Z, Hinton Jr A, Stoll MS, De Wet S, Theart RP, Chakrabarty RP, Loos B, Chandel N, Mears J, Gama V. DRP1 mutations associated with EMPF1 encephalopathy alter mitochondrial membrane potential and metabolic programs. Journal of Cell Science. 2023 Feb 1;136(3):jcs260370. | Link | Link | |
| 5 | Theart RP, Kriel J, du Toit A, Loos B, Niesler TR. Mitochondrial event localiser (MEL) to quantitatively describe fission, fusion and depolarisation in three-dimensional space. Plos ONE. 2020 Dec 30;15(12):e0229634. | Link | Link | Link |
| 4 | Theart RP, Loos B, Niesler TR. Regression adjusted colocalisation colour mapping (RACC): A novel biological visual analysis method for qualitative colocalisation analysis of 3D fluorescence micrographs. Plos ONE. 2019 Oct 29;14(11): e0225141. | Link | Link | |
| 3 | Neethling A, Engelbrecht L, Loos B, Kinnear C, Theart R, Abrahams S, Niesler T, Mellick GD, Williams M, Bardien S. Wild-type and mutant (G2019S) leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) associate with subunits of the translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane (TOM) complex. Experimental Cell Research. 2018 Dec 28. | Link | ||
| 2 | Theart RP, Loos B, Powrie YS, Niesler TR. Improved region of interest selection and colocalization analysis in three-dimensional fluorescence microscopy samples using virtual reality. Plos ONE. 2018 Aug 29;13(8): e0201965. | Link | Video | |
| 1 | Theart RP, Loos B, Niesler TR. Virtual reality assisted microscopy data visualization and colocalization analysis. BMC Bioinformatics. 2017 Feb;18(2):64. | Link | Video |
Conference Publications
| # | Paper | Print (DOI) | Pre-P (Open) | Data/ Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deyzel M, Theart RP. Skeleton-Based Action Recognition on Strength and Conditioning Exercises. InProceedings of the IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition 2023 (pp. 5168-5177). | Link |
Conference Presentations
| # | Presentation | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Schreuder C-M, Bergh O, Theart RP. Evaluating 2D pose estimation models for biomechanical analysis using a high-fidelity dataset. South African Society of Biomechanics (SASB) 4th Conference, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, 4-5 September 2025. | Abstract Presentation |
| 1 | Theart RP, Steyn L, Ellenberger K, Schreuder C-M. Real-time biomechanical analysis and AI personal trainer for strength and conditioning exercises using markerless motion capture. South African Society of Biomechanics (SASB) 4th Conference, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, 4–5 September 2025. | Abstract Presentation |
Patents
- Theart RP, Loos B, Niesler TR. Method and System for Visualising Colocalised Fluorescence Signals (Pub. No.: US 2022/0189129 A1; Pub. Date: 16 June 2022)
- Theart RP, Loos B, Niesler TR. Method for determining mitochondrial events (Pub. No.: US 2023/0081546 A1; Pub. Date: 16 March 2023)
Miscellaneous
- My PhD Dissertation - Download | Library page
- My B.Eng final year report - Download
Media Releases
- SUMediPose: A 2D-3D pose estimation dataset (23-Sept-25) — Read more
- Mapping Real-World Objects into Virtual Reality to Facilitate Interaction using 6DoF Pose Estimation (29-Apr-25) — Read more
- Studying Neurodegenerative Diseases on a Cellular Level and in 3D (28-Aug-24) — Read more
- Skin Tone Estimation under Diverse Lighting Conditions (30-Jul-24) — Read more
- Markerless Versus Marker-Based 3D Human Pose Estimation for Strength and Conditioning Exercise Identification (24-Oct-23) — Read more
- One-shot skeleton-based action recognition on strength and conditioning exercises (02-Aug-23) — Read more
- EE student, Alex Muthua, secures master's degree with facial recognition technology (14-Dec-22) — Read more
- Accurate quantification of cell dynamics possible with new software tool (06-Apr-2021) — Read more
- An overview: Virtual Reality Assisted Fluorescence Microscopy Data Visualisation and Analysis for Improved Understanding of Molecular Structures Implicated in Neurodegenerative Disease (27-Aug-20) — Read more
- An overview: Virtual reality assisted microscopy data visualisation and colocalization analysis (06-Jul-20) — Read more
- A father's passion inspires a son's career (08-Jun-20) — Read more