GaAs LASER RHEUMATISMAL BIOSTIMULOTHERAPY

The paper deals with the construction of a pulsed laser diode generator for medical purposes, using avalanche transistors. The promising results obtained with such a generator in rheumatismal biostimulotherapy are also discussed

COUPLED MODES NUMBER EVALUATION FOR FM MODE-LOCKED LASERS.

This paper analyses the frequency modulated gas laser operation and mode-locking, achieved by phase perturbation of the cavity medium, using Lamb's semiquantum model of the laser. The most important parameters of the perturbed system which are taken into account in the established expression of the modes number are: the modulation frequency detuning, the perturbation strength, the gain and saturation coefficients

Dispositif bistable à laser He-Ne à cristal liquide dans la cavité couplée

A hybrid bistable optical device is realised by using a liquid crystal light modulator (based on dynamic scattering), placed in a passive cavity which is coupled to a He-Ne laser cavity. The liquid crystal transmission is driven electronically by means of a feedback loop in the device. © 1985

Sequential en-face optical coherence tomography imaging and monitoring of Drosophila Melanogaster larval heart

This article demonstrates two modalities to acquire information on cardiac function in larval Drosophila Melanogaster: in-vivo imaging and heartbeat monitoring. To achieve these goals a dedicated imaging instrument able to provide simultaneous en-face Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) images has been developed. With this dual imaging system, the heart can easily be located and visualised within the specimen and the change of the heart shape in a cardiac cycle monitored. The system can easily be switched to a stethoscopic regime, simply by interrupting the scanning of the light beam across the sample, after selecting the point of interest in the imaging regime. Here we have used targeted gene expression to knockdown the myospheroid (mys) gene in the larval heart using a specific RNAi construct. By knocking down a β integrin subunit encoded by mys we have recorded an enlarged heart chamber in both diastolic and systolic states. Also, the fraction of reduction of the chamber diameter was smaller in the knockdown heart. These phenotypic differences indicate that impaired cardiac contractility occurs in the heart where the integrin gene express level is reduced. As far as we are aware, this is for the first time when it is shown in Drosophila that integrins have a direct relationship to a dilated heart defect, and conseqThis article demonstrates two modalities to acquire information on cardiac function in larval Drosophila Melanogaster: in-vivo imaging and heartbeat monitoring. To achieve these goals a dedicated imaging instrument able to provide simultaneous en-face Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) images has been developed. With this dual imaging system, the heart can easily be located and visualised within the specimen and the change of the heart shape in a cardiac cycle monitored. The system can easily be switched to a stethoscopic regime, simply by interrupting the scanning of the light beam across the sample, after selecting the point of interest in the imaging regime. Here we have used targeted gene expression to knockdown the myospheroid (mys) gene in the larval heart using a specific RNAi construct. By knocking down a β integrin subunit encoded by mys we have recorded an enlarged heart chamber in both diastolic and systolic states. Also, the fraction of reduction of the chamber diameter was smaller in the knockdown heart. These phenotypic differences indicate that impaired cardiac contractility occurs in the heart where the integrin gene express level is reduced. As far as we are aware, this is for the first time when it is shown in Drosophila that integrins have a direct relationship to a dilated heart defect, and consequently we demonstrate the utility of Drosophila as model for the study of vertebrate heart disease. By monitoring the heartbeat we also demonstrated a reduction of the heart rate in Tropomyosin mutant compared to the wild type larva.uently we demonstrate the utility of Drosophila as model for the study of vertebrate heart disease. By monitoring the heartbeat we also demonstrated a reduction of the heart rate in Tropomyosin mutant compared to the wild type larva

Comparative assessment of three algorithms to control a deformable mirror for an adaptive optics system with no wavefront sensor

The images obtained from confocal imaging systems present less resolution than the theoretical limit due to imperfection of the optical components and their arrangement. This imperfection deteriorates the wavefront and introduces aberrations to the optical system. Adaptive optics (AO) systems composed of a wavefront sensor (WFS) and a deformable mirror represent the most used solution to this problem. Such adaptive optics systems are expensive. In addition, in microscopy, WFSs cannot be used due to stray reflections in the system and high aberrations introduced by the specimen. For these reasons, sensor-less AO systems have been developed to control the deformable mirror (DM) using an optimization algorithm in an iterative manner. At each iteration, the algorithm produces a new set of voltage and sends it to the mirror so as to optimize its shape, in such a way, as to maximize the strength of the photodetector current in the imaging system. In this paper the results of the application of three optimization techniques in the sensor-less AO are compared. The three optimization techniques are simulated annealing (SA), genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). SA and GA have been previously implemented and PSO is explained in this paper

Correlation of quantitative light-induced fluorescence and optical coherence tomography applied for detection and quantification of early dental caries

Fluorescence loss in enamel following demineralization has been correlated with the amount of mineral lost during the demineralization. The correlation between fluorescence loss measured by quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) and the reflectivity loss measured by a versatile en face optical coherence tomography (OCT) system was investigated in a demineralization process to produce artificial dental caries. We used an OCT system that can collect A-scans (reflectivity versus depth), B-scans (longitudinal images), and C-scans (en face images). The power to the sample was 250 μW, the wave-length λ = 850 nm, and the depth resolution in air 16 μm. A-scans, which show the profile of the reflectivity versus the depth of penetration into the tooth tissue, were used for quantitative analysis of the reflectivity loss. The results have shown that both the fluorescence radiance and reflectivity of the enamel decrease with increasing demineralization time. A linear correlation was observed between the percentage of fluorescence loss measured by QLF and the percentage of reflectivity loss measured by OCT. It was concluded that the decrease in reflectivity of the enamel during demineralization, measured by OCT, could be related to the amount of mineral lost during the demineralization process © 2003 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers

Ex vivo optical coherence tomography imaging of larynx tissues using a forward-viewing resonant fiber-optic scanning endoscope

A miniature endoscope probe for forward viewing in a 50 kHz swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) configuration was developed. The work presented here is an intermediate step in our research towards in vivo endoscopic laryngeal cancer screening. The endoscope probe consists of a miniature tubular lead zirconate titanate (PZT) actuator, a single mode fiber (SMF) cantilever and a GRIN lens, with a diameter of 2.4 mm. The outer surface of the PZT actuator is divided into four quadrants that form two pairs of orthogonal electrodes (X and Y). When sinusoidal waves of opposite polarities are applied to one electrode pair, the PZT tube bends transversally with respect to the two corresponding quadrants, and the fiber optic cantilever is displaced perpendicular to the PZT tube. The cantilever's resonant frequency was found experimentally as 47.03 Hz. With the GRIN lens used, a lateral resolution of � 13 μm is expected. 2D en face spiral scanning pattern is achieved by adjusting the phase between the pairs of X and Y electrodes drive close to 90 degrees. Furthermore, we demonstrate the imaging capability of the probe by obtaining B-scan images of diseased larynx tissue and compare them with those obtained in a 1310 nm SS-OCT classical non-endoscopic system. © 2012 SPIE

Adaptive optics assisted Fourier domain OCT with balanced detection

Two factors are of importance to optical coherence tomography (OCT), resolution and sensitivity. Adaptive optics improves the resolution of a system by correcting for aberrations causing distortions in the wave-front. Balanced detection has been used in time domain OCT systems by removing excess photon noise, however it has not been used in Fourier domain systems, as the cameras used in the spectrometers saturated before excess photon noise becomes a problem. Advances in camera technology mean that this is no longer the case and balanced detection can now be used to improve the signal to noise ratio in a Fourier domain (FD) OCT system. An FD-OCT system, enhanced with adaptive optics, is presented and is used to show the improvement that balanced detection can provide. The signal to noise ratios of single camera detection and balanced detection are assessed and in-vivo retinal images are acquired to demonstrate better image quality when using balance detection

Dynamic focus optical coherence tomography: Feasibility for improved basal cell carcinoma investigation

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer. To improve the diagnostic accuracy, additional non-invasive methods of making a preliminary diagnosis have been sought. We have implemented an En-Face optical coherence tomography (OCT) for this study in which the dynamic focus was integrated into it. With the dynamic focus scheme, the coherence gate moves synchronously with the peak of confocal gate determined by the confocal interface optics. The transversal resolution is then conserved throughout the depth range and an enhanced signal is returned from all depths. The Basal Cell Carcinoma specimens were obtained from the eyelid a patient. The specimens under went analysis by DF-OCT imaging. We searched for remarkable features that were visualized by OCT and compared these findings with features presented in the histology slices

Phantom testing of a novel endoscopic OCT probe: A prelude to clinical in-vivo laryngeal use

Optical coherence tomography is a novel imaging technique providing potentially high resolution tri-dimensional images of tissue microstructure up to 2-3mm deep. We present pre-clinical data from a novel miniaturised OCT probe utilised for endoscopic imaging of laryngeal mucosa. A 1300nm SS-OCT probe was passed in tandem with a flexible fibreoptic nasoendoscope into the larynx of a manikin. Ex vivo OCT images were acquired using a desktop 1300nm TD-OCT imaging system. The feasibility, robustness and safety of this set-up was demonstrated as a preliminary step to extending the use of this assembly to a clinical patient cohort with varying laryngeal pathologies. © Copyright SPIE