Polymer optical fiber sensors in human life safety

The current state of research into polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors linked to safety in human life is summarized in this paper. This topic is directly related with new solutions for civil aircraft, structural health monitoring, healthcare and biomedicine fields. In the last years, the properties of polymers have been explored to identify situations offering potential advantages over conventional silica fiber sensing technology, replacing, in some cases, problematic electronic technology used in these mentioned fields, where there are some issues to overcome. POFs could preferably replace their silica counterparts, with improved performance and biocompatibility. Finally, new developments are reported which use the unique properties of POF

Force Sensing in Arthroscopic Instruments using Fiber Bragg Gratings

Minimally-invasive surgery has revolutionized many medical procedures; however, it also impedes the ability to feel the interaction between the surgical tool and the anatomical part being operated on. In order to address this problem, it is necessary to obtain accurate measurements of the interaction forces exerted on the surgical tools during surgery. These forces can then be manifested to the surgeon via a haptic device or presented visually (visual-force feedback). This thesis describes the use of a fiber optic device to measure and display to the surgeon interaction forces acting on an arthroscopic tool. The sensorization of the tool involves a simple, highly efficient and robust design and is ideally suited for use in a surgical training environment aimed at narrowing the gap between trainees and expert surgeons before the trainees proceed to their first surgery in vivo. The major advantages of using fiber optics include their small size, their local simplicity, their ease of sterilization, and their high sensitivity. In this thesis, a complete low-cost sensing solution is described, including 1) the use of fiber Bragg grating and long period grating sensors, 2) design of a low-cost optical interrogator, 3) high resolution electronic signal processing, and 4) fabrication of the tool using wire EDM, CNC, and 3D metal sintering technologies. The full design of an arthroscopic grasper is presented, along with the preliminary design and manufacturing of an arthroscopic probe and shaver. The designed low-cost system was compared with a commercially-available optical interrogator. The calibration and experimental results for this system are presented and discussed for accuracy and performance of the sensorized tool before and after an axial element was added for increased sensitivity. Sources of error and methods of improvement for the optical system, arthroscopic tool, and testing procedures are discussed to inform the design of future generations of these instruments

Optical Multicore Fiber Shape Sensors. A numerical and experimental performance assessment

[EN] Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a discipline that quantitatively assesses the integrity and performance of infrastructures, relying on sensors, and support the development of efficient Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R) plans. Optical Multicore Fiber (MCF) Shape Sensors offer an innovative alternative to traditional methods and enable the reconstruction of the deformed shape of structures directly and in real-time, with no need of computation models or visual contact and exploiting all the advantages of Optical Fiber Sensors (OFS) technology. Despite the intense research efforts centered on this topic by research groups worldwide, a comprehensive investigation on the parameters that influence the performance of these sensors has not been conducted yet. The first part of the thesis presents a numerical study that examines the effects of strain measurement accuracy and core position errors on the performance of optical multicore fiber shape sensors in sensing three-dimensional curvature, which is at the basis of shape reconstruction. The analysis reproduces the strain measurement process using Monte Carlo Method (MCM) and identifies several parameters which play a key role in the phenomenon, including core spacing (distance between outer cores and sensor axis), number of cores and curvature measured. Finally, a set of predictive models were calibrated, by fitting the results of the simulations, to predict the sensors performance. Afterward, an experimental study is proposed to evaluate the performance of optical multicore fiber in sensing shape, with particular focus on the influence of strain sensors length. Two shape sensors were fabricated, by inscribing long (8.0 mm) and short (1.5 mm) Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) into the cores of a multicore seven-core fiber. Thus, the performance of the two sensors was assessed and compared, at all the necessary phases for shape reconstruction: strain sensing, curvature calculation and shape reconstruction. To conclude, an innovative approach, based on the Saint-Venant's Torsion Theory, is presented to determine the twisting of multicore fiber and to compensate the errors due to twisting during shape reconstruction. The efficiency of the theoretical approach was then corroborated performing a series of twisting tests on a shape sensor, fabricated by inscribing FBGs sensors into an optical spun multicore seven-core fiber. The investigation of the mechanical behavior of multicore optical shape sensors has synergically involved diverse disciplines: Solid Mechanics, Photonics, Statistics and Data Analysis. Such multidisciplinary research has arisen from the prolific cooperation between the Institutes of the Institute of Science and Technology of Concrete (ICITECH) and the Institute of Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM) - Photonics Research Labs (PRL) - of Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), in addition to valuable collaboration with other members of the European ITN-FINESSE project, to which this work belongs. This research work aims to enhance the performance optical multicore fiber shape sensors and support the development of new sensor geometries, with great potential for structural health monitoring applications.[ES] La Monitorización de la Salud Estructural (MSE) evalúa cuantitativamente la integridad y el comportamiento de las infraestructuras y permite desarrollar planes eficaces de Mantenimiento y Rehabilitación (M&R), utilizando los datos de los sensores. Sensores de forma basados en fibra óptica multinúcleo ofrecen una alternativa a los métodos tradicionales y permiten la reconstrucción de la deformada de estructuras de forma directa y en tiempo real, sin necesidad de modelos de cálculo o contacto visual y con todas las ventajas de la tecnología de los Sensores de Fibra Óptica (SFO). A pesar de los grandes esfuerzos en la investigación centrada en este tema por parte de los grupos de investigación de todo el mundo, todavía no se ha realizado una investigación exhaustiva que estudie los parámetros que influyen en el comportamiento de estos sensores. En la primera parte de la tesis se presenta un estudio numérico en el que se examinan los efectos de la precisión de la medición de la tensión y los errores de posición del núcleo en el comportamiento de los sensores de forma basados en fibra óptica multinúcleo para definir la curvatura tridimensional, que es la base de la reconstrucción de la forma. El análisis reproduce el proceso de medición de la tensión utilizando el método de Monte Carlo (MC) e identifica una serie de parámetros que desempeñan un papel en el proceso, entre ellos la separación del núcleo (distancia entre los núcleos exteriores y el eje del sensor), el número de núcleos y la curvatura medida. Por último, se calibró un conjunto de modelos de predicción ajustando los resultados de las simulaciones para predecir el comportamiento de los sensores. A continuación, se propone un estudio experimental para evaluar el comportamiento de los sensores de forma basado en fibra óptica multinúcleo, con especial atención en la influencia de la longitud de los sensores de deformación. Se fabricaron dos sensores de forma, inscribiendo Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) con longitudes de 8,0 mm y 1,5 mm en los núcleos de una fibra multinúcleo de siete núcleos. Así, se evaluó y comparó el comportamiento de los dos sensores en todas las fases necesarias para la reconstrucción de la forma, incluyendo la medición de la tensión, el cálculo de la curvatura y la reconstrucción de la forma. Para concluir, se presenta un enfoque innovador, basado en la Teoría de la Torsión de Saint-Venant, para determinar la torsión de la fibra multinúcleo y compensar los errores debidos a la torsión durante la reconstrucción de la forma. La eficiencia del enfoque teórico fue verificada realizando una serie de pruebas de torsión en un sensor de forma, fabricado inscribiendo los sensores de FBGs en una fibra óptica multinúcleo torcida y siete núcleos. La investigación del comportamiento mecánico de los sensores ópticos de forma multinúcleo ha involucrado sinérgicamente diversas disciplinas: Mecánica del sólido, Fotónica, Estadística y Análisis de datos. Esta investigación multidisciplinaria ha surgido de la prolífica cooperación entre el Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología del Hormigón (ICITECH) y el Instituto de Telecomunicaciones y Aplicaciones Multimedia (iTEAM) - Laboratorio de Investigación Fotónica (LIF) - de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV), además de la valiosa colaboración con otros miembros del proyecto europeo ITN-FINESSE, al que pertenece este trabajo. Este trabajo de investigación puede permitir mejorar el comportamiento de los sensores de forma basados en fibra óptica multinúcleo y apoyar el desarrollo de nuevas geometrías de sensores, con un gran potencial para aplicaciones de control de la salud estructural.[CA] Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) avalua quantitativament la integritat i el comportament de les infraestructures i permet desenrotllar plans eficaços de Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R), utilitzant les dades dels sensors. Optical Multicore Fiber (MCF) Shape Sensors oferixen una alternativa als mètodes tradicionals i permeten la reconstrucció de la forma de la deformació de les estructures de forma directa i en temps real, sense necessitat de models de càlcul o contacte visual i amb tots els avantatges de l'Optical Fiber Sensors (OFS) Technology. A pesar dels grans esforços en la investigació centrada en aquest tema per part dels grups d'investigació de tot el món, encara no s'ha realitzat una investigació exhaustiva que estudie els paràmetres que influïxen en el comportament d'aquestos sensors. En la primera part de la tesi es presenta un estudi numèric en què s'examinen els efectes de la precisió del mesurament de la tensió i els errors de posició del nucli en el comportament dels sensors de forma basats en fibra òptica multinucli per a definir la curvatura tridimensional, que és la base de la reconstrucció de la forma. L'anàlisi reproduïx el procés de mesurament de la tensió utilitzant el mètode de Monte Carlo (MC) i identifica una sèrie de paràmetres que exercixen un paper en el procés, entre ells la separació del nucli (distància entre els nuclis exteriors i l'eix del sensor), el nombre de nuclis i la mesura de la curvatura. Finalment, es va calibrar un conjunt de models de predicció ajustant els resultats de les simulacions per a predir el comportament dels sensors. A continuació, es proposa un estudi experimental per a avaluar el comportament dels sensors de forma basat en fibra òptica multinucli, amb especial atenció en la influència de la longitud dels sensors de deformació. Es van fabricar dos sensors de forma, inscrivint Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) amb longituds de 8,0 mm i 1,5 mm en els nuclis d'una fibra multinucli de set nuclis. Així, es va avaluar i es va comparar el comportament dels dos sensors en totes les fases necessàries per a la reconstrucció de la forma, incloent el mesurament de la tensió, el càlcul de la curvatura i la reconstrucció de la forma. Per a concloure, es presenta un enfocament innovador, basat en la Teoria de la Torsió de Saint-Venant, per a determinar la torsió de la fibra multinucli i compensar els errors deguts a la torsió durant la reconstrucció de la forma. L'eficiència de l'enfocament teòric va ser verificada realitzant una sèrie de proves de torsió en un sensor de forma, fabricat inscrivint els sensors de FBGs en una fibra òptica de set nuclis de filat múltiple. La investigació del comportament mecànic dels sensors òptics de forma multinucli ha involucrat sinèrgicament diverses disciplines: Mecànica del sòlid, Fotónica, Estadística i Anàlisi de dades. Aquesta investigació multidisciplinària ha sorgit de la prolífica cooperació entre l'Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia del Formigó (ICITECH) i l'Institut de Telecomunicacions i Aplicacions Multimèdia (iTEAM) - Laboratori de investigación fotònica (LIF) - de la Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), a més de la valuosa col·laboració amb altres membres del projecte europeu ITN- FINESSE, al qual pertany aquest treball. Aquest treball d'investigació pot permetre millorar el comportament dels sensors de forma basats en fibra òptica multinucli i ajudar al desenrotllament de noves geometries de sensors, amb un gran potencial per a aplicacions de control de la salut estructural.Floris, I. (2020). Optical Multicore Fiber Shape Sensors. A numerical and experimental performance assessment [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/148715TESI

Fiber bragg gratings for medical applications and future challenges: A review

In the last decades, fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) have become increasingly attractive to medical applications due to their unique properties such as small size, biocompatibility, immunity to electromagnetic interferences, high sensitivity and multiplexing capability. FBGs have been employed in the development of surgical tools, assistive devices, wearables, and biosensors, showing great potentialities for medical uses. This paper reviews the FBG-based measuring systems, their principle of work, and their applications in medicine and healthcare. Particular attention is given to sensing solutions for biomechanics, minimally invasive surgery, physiological monitoring, and medical biosensing. Strengths, weaknesses, open challenges, and future trends are also discussed to highlight how FBGs can meet the demands of next-generation medical devices and healthcare system

Impact detection techniques using fibre-optic sensors for aerospace & defence

Impact detection techniques are developed for application in the aerospace and defence industries. Optical fibre sensors hold great promise for structural health monitoring systems and methods of interrogating fibre Bragg gratings (FBG) are investigated given the need for dynamic strain capture and multiplexed sensors. An arrayed waveguide grating based interrogator is developed. The relationships between key performance indicators, such as strain range and linearity of response, and parameters such as the FBG length and spectral width are determined. It was found that the inclusion of a semiconductor optical amplifier could increase the signal-to-noise ratio by ~300% as the system moves to its least sensitive. An alternative interrogator is investigated utilising two wave mixing in erbium-doped fibre in order to create an adaptive system insensitive to quasistatic strain and temperature drifts. Dynamic strain sensing was demonstrated at 200 Hz which remained functional while undergoing a temperature shift of 8.5 °C. In addition, software techniques are investigated for locating impact events on a curved composite structure using both time-of-flight triangulation and neural networks. A feature characteristic of composite damage creation is identified in dynamic signals captured during impact. An algorithm is developed which successfully distinguishes between signals characteristic of a non-damaging impact with those from a damaging impact with a classification accuracy of 93 – 96%. Finally, a demonstrator system is produced to exhibit some of the techniques developed in this thesis

Fiber Bragg Gratings for Medical Applications and Future Challenges: A Review

[EN] In the last decades, fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) have become increasingly attractive to medical applications due to their unique properties such as small size, biocompatibility, immunity to electromagnetic interferences, high sensitivity and multiplexing capability. FBGs have been employed in the development of surgical tools, assistive devices, wearables, and biosensors, showing great potentialities for medical uses. This paper reviews the FBG-based measuring systems, their principle of work, and their applications in medicine and healthcare. Particular attention is given to sensing solutions for biomechanics, minimally invasive surgery, physiological monitoring, and medical biosensing. Strengths, weaknesses, open challenges, and future trends are also discussed to highlight how FBGs can meet the demands of next-generation medical devices and healthcare system.This work was supported in part by INAIL (the Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accident at Work), through the BRIC (Bando ricerche in collaborazione) 2018 SENSE-RISC (Sviluppo di abiti intelligENti Sensorizzati per prevenzione e mitigazione di Rischi per la SiCurezza dei lavoratori) Project under Grant ID10/2018, in part by the UCBM (Universita Campus Bio-Medico di Roma) under the University Strategic HOPE (HOspital to the PatiEnt) Project, in part by the EU Framework Program H2020-FETPROACT-2018-01 NeuHeart Project under Grant GA 824071, by FCT/MEC (Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia) under the Projects UIDB/50008/2020 - UIDP/50008/2020, and by REACT (Development of optical fiber solutions for Rehabilitation and e-Health applications) FCT-IT-LA scientific action.Lo Presti, D.; Massaroni, C.; Leitao, CSJ.; Domingues, MDF.; Sypabekova, M.; Barrera, D.; Floris, I.... (2020). Fiber Bragg Gratings for Medical Applications and Future Challenges: A Review. IEEE Access. 8:156863-156888. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3019138S156863156888

Review on Strain Monitoring of Aircraft Using Optical Fibre Sensor

Structural health monitoring of aircraft assures safety, integrity and reduces cost-related concerns by reducing the number of times maintenance is required. Under aerodynamic loading, aircraft is subjected to strain, in turn causing damage and breakdown. This paper presents a review of experimental works, which focuses on monitoring strain of various parts of aircraft using optical fibre sensors. In addition, this paper presents a discussion and review on different types of optical fibre sensors used for structural health monitoring (SHM) of aircraft. However, the focus of this paper is on fibre bragg gratings (FBGs) for strain monitoring.  Here, FBGs are discussed in detail because they have proved to be most viable and assuring technology in this field. In most cases of strain monitoring, load conditioning and management employs finite element method (FEM). However, more effort is still required in finding the accurate positions in real time where the sensors can be placed in the structure and responds under complex deformation

Optical sensors for cultural heritage and biomedical applications

The current Ph.D. thesis is articulated in 4 different research paths. The main research topic is on the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor and its applications, mainly related to the conservation of the original status of the artworks. The second topic is related to the development of a new methodology for measuring the cracking of the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of cultural heritage. In the third topic, it is addressed the subject on the complex diatribe related to the risk in delivering anesthesia; field in which I have been also working, being a Biomedical Engineer. Finally, in the last topic it is proposed a biomechanics study on the patellar taping with the purpose of finding a correlation between the taping and a neuromuscular response. A new era of pollution requires an important focus on the conservation of archaeological sites and monuments. In the last years, great efforts were made to develop various sensors for different tasks; the FBG was one of the most studied thanks to the multitude of applications and the surprising performances. An original fiber optic sensor that combines the fiber Bragg gratings with a pH responsive polymer coating for monitoring the pH of the rains on critical and prestigious monuments is proposed. In this study, the arrangement setup of the optical sensor is modeled with Comsol Multiphysics (Wave Optics Module), based on the FEM (Finite Element Method) solver. Monitoring the pH of the rain can be used by experts to predict and control the corrosion of specific materials, especially limestone and marble, thus scheduling timely restoration. This also depends on the materials under analysis and it can have an important impact in terms of cost reductions and higher maintenance efficiency. In conclusion, the swelling response of hydrogels to the change of surrounding pH allowed the development of a model of hydrogel coated FBG pH sensor. Modelling the FBG pH sensor for monitoring the rain in archaeology and in cultural heritage provided innovative results in terms of high sensitivity and small dimensions of the device, allowing better intervention planning. In the first chapter, a preliminary study regarding the optical ring resonator is conducted because, ultimately, the goal is to realize a sensor that combines the FBG and the ring resonator for future developments in order to improve the sensor performances. Along with the development of the FBG sensor, a new methodology for measuring the cracking for the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of cultural heritage is also studied. The methodology is characterized by being minimally invasive on the artefact that has to be preserved, which is one of the main qualities required in this field. The approach is to determine the relative distance between two optical tags, using advanced fitting algorithms for the objective function. Different kinds of objective-function were taken into account in order to identify the best configuration to determine the fitting parameters, useful to the SHM. The optical tags are introduced for this scope; they are nothing but adhesive labels with appropriate images, through which, by using advanced fitting methods and algorithms, it is possible to determine the absolute and relative position and three-dimensional rotations of the images. The third chapter of this thesis deals with the risk and perception of risk in delivering anesthesia. The study examines the different perceptions of risk associated with anesthesia systems from the viewpoints of the product manufacturer and the caregiver. Only little research has been done on the impact of the perception of risk for patient safety in anesthesia. The role of the manufacturer in mitigating the perception of risk is central in the work. The risk was examined as the probability of negative occurrences based on the Medical Device Reportable (MDR) events and these risks were compared to how the caregiver perceives and manages them when delivering anesthesia. Analysis of the manufacturer’s public Medical Device Reportable (MDR) events data was performed in the US market and it represents the actual risk achieved; the bibliographic review provided a perspective on how the risk is perceived and managed by the caregiver when delivering anesthesia. The goal of the research path is to highlight how the role of the manufacturers can have an impact on the reduction of perception of risk in anesthesia, increasing patient safety. Finally, a biomechanical proposal on the estimation of Centre of Mass (CoM) trajectory has been developed. Motion capture systems and force platforms are still considered the gold standard for the estimation of accurate CoM measurements. In the last decade, several methods based on inertial sensors systems have been proposed based on double integration of acceleration signals of pelvis-worn sensors (M. J. Floor-Westerdijk, 2012). Although the portability of those methodologies is higher, drift errors due to extremely lengthy time acquisitions affect measurements, limiting their use. For the purpose of avoiding drift error and providing an accurate tool for ambulatory and/or home CoM assessment, the accuracy of a novel method based on a Biomechanical Model (BM) will be investigated. Among the large number of potential applications, this novel approach could be used in the identification of the effects of the patellar taping on neuromuscular control. More specifically, the patellar taping technique proposed by McConnell (J. McCONNELL, 1986) allows patients to engage in pain-free physical therapy exercises, by medializing the patella. Although this technique has been demonstrated to reduce the perceived pain of patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome and improve neuromuscular activity (N. Aminaka and P. A. Gribble, 2008), a deeper investigation on how patellar tape influences postural stability thought CoM assessment could be of great interest in the long term management of Chondromalacia Patellae. It has been demonstrated, in fact, that patellar taping affects knee proprioception other than relieving pain in subjects with patellofemoral pain syndrome (M. J. Callaghan, 2008). The aim of this research program is to pursue through static and dynamic tasks performed twice both by healthy subjects and not-healthy ones, with and without patellar tape

Fiber Optic Sensors for Harsh and High Radiation Environments in Aerospace Applications

In the upcoming space revolutions aiming at the implementation of automated, smart, and self-aware crewless vehicles and reusable spacecraft, sensors play a significant role in the control systems. In particular, fiber optic sensors, with their small footprint and electromagnetic immunity, represent a great opportunity in aerospace. The radiation environment and the harsh conditions in which these sensors will operate represent a challenge for the potential user in the aerospace vehicle design and the fiber optic sensor specialist. We present a review that aims to be a primer in the field of fiber optic sensors in radiation environments for aerospace. We review the main aerospace requirements and their relationship with fiber optics. We also present a brief overview of fiber optics and sensors based on them. Finally, we present different examples of applications in radiation environments for aerospace applications