Optic Disc and Fovea Localisation in Ultra-widefield Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope Images Captured in Multiple Modalities

We propose a convolutional neural network for localising the centres of the optic disc (OD) and fovea in ultra-wide field of view scanning laser ophthalmoscope (UWFoV-SLO) images of the retina. Images captured in both reflectance and autofluorescence (AF) modes, and central pole and eyesteered gazes, were used. The method achieved an OD localisation accuracy of 99.4% within one OD radius, and fovea localisation accuracy of 99.1% within one OD radius on a test set comprising of 1790 images. The performance of fovea localisation in AF images was comparable to the variation between human annotators at this task. The laterality of the image (whether the image is of the left or right eye) was inferred from the OD and fovea coordinates with an accuracy of 99.9%

3D-Printed Triboelectric Nanogenerator Sensors for Soft Haptic Interfaces

Haptic interfaces allow us to interact with the virtual environment by sensing our realistic tactile information and delivering them to the computer system. However, rigid and cumbersome form factors of haptic interfaces limit the comfortable interfaces and various applications. Here we report triboelectric-based 3D-printed soft haptic interfaces with free-form factor. An elastic material 3D printing enables us to fabricate soft haptic interfaces with 3D sensors as we desire. After printing some components of the 3D flexible sensors, we use the active materials to achieve surface modification of printed components and assemble those functionalized components into a single structure. When we apply the external force to the sensor structure with multiple components, those components are contacted or separated from each other. Due to their different surface electron affinities the triboelectric effect occurs, which derives the electron transfer and generates the electrical signal. This electrical signal is transmitted as realistic tactile information to the computer system for interacting with the virtual environmental system. We expect these soft haptic interfaces will contribute to expand the haptic technologies for various applications

Modulation of immune responses with nanoparticles and reduction of their immunotoxicity

Particles with a size range of 1-100 nm used in various fields of life sciences are called nanoparticles (NPs). Currently, nanotechnology has a wide range of applications in biomedical research, industries and in almost all types of modern technology. The growing applications of nanotechnology in medicine urge scientists to analyze the impact of NPs on human body tissues and the immune system. Easy surface modifications of the NPs enable the modulation of the immune system either by evading the immune system to prevent allergic reactions or by enhancing the immunogenic response. In this review, we discussed the various possible theories and practical implications reported to date for the applications of nanotechnology in immunostimulation and immunosuppression for favorable immune response, such as vaccine delivery and cancer treatments. In the last part of this paper, we also discussed the biocompatibility and unfavorable immunotoxicity of NPs and methods for lowering their toxicity.11Nsciescopu