Thermal Imaging-based State Estimation of a Stefan Problem with Application to Cell Thawing

Devices and methods for controlling a phase transition of a sample are provided. The device includes a heat transfer device adapted to be thermally connected with a sample, where the sample has a first phase and a second phase, with the sample being initially in the first phase; an image acquisition module adapted to acquire an image of the sample; and a control system, operably connected to the heat transfer device and the image acquisition module. The control system is configured to, while a termination condition is not met: cause heat transfer between the heat transfer device and the sample, thereby causing a phase transition of the sample from the first phase to the second phase; cause the acquisition module to acquire the image of the sample; based on the image of the sample, determine the position of a boundary between the first phase and the second phase of the sample; and based on the determined position of the boundary, determine whether the termination condition is met.