We introduce a compact attachment for microscope objectives that allows for the conversion of conventional fluorescence microscopes into Airy light-sheet microscopes. The attachment includes a one-dimensional Airy beam generator, which comprises a gradient-index collimator and a 3D nano-printed cubic phase-plate, realized through two-photon polymerization 3D nano-printing and a two-step writing process that guarantees an optical-quality surface for the phase plate. The micro-optical unit is affixed to a mechanical holder equipped with micro-stages, thereby facilitating the unit's integration into commercial microscopes. The implementation and imaging performance of this system and its fundamental imaging characteristics are discussed, with findings based on diverse samples.
This paper explores how a fluorescent dye can be immobilized in a polymer film at the distal end of an optical fibre to serve as a fibre optical chemical sensor for organic solvents in water. The sensing principle is based on a shift in the fluorescence peak of the dye.
Parametric imaging of attenuation using optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a powerful tool for assessing changes in tissue morphology associated with disease. Several models are available for extracting the optical properties of tissue from OCT images. However, the accuracy of these models and their dependence on the tissue optical properties has yet to be established. Here, we investigate the accuracy of several OCT models and assess their suitability for extracting optical properties. We establish that the single scattering models produce more precise results (lower variance), but the EHF model is more accurate. Furthermore, the accuracy of the single scattering model degrades as the scattering coefficient and thickness of the tissue increase. We intend that the results of this study will aid in the development of standardized protocols for extracting optical properties from OCT images.
In clinical applications of fluorescence-guided endoscopy of the bladder (cystoscopy) it can be observed that the contrast in light from autofluorescence and from photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) varies from patient to patient. To compensate for this effect, a new method is presented for tuning the wavelength of a LED-based light source during fluorescence guided endoscopy of the bladder i.e. photodynamic diagnosis of bladder tumours. In the present embodiment, the wavelength of the LED source, developed in our laboratory, can be tuned to vary the excitation wavelength of both the sensitised fluorescence in the tumours (PDD) as well as the native fluorescence of the bladder mucosa and blood vessels. The contrast of the image observed through the CCD-camera attached to the cystoscope is thereby increased. In this way, patient to patient variations in autofluorescence and in sensitised fluorescence of tumours can be compensated for during fluorescence-guided cystoscopy in the clinic.
A platform for lab-scale replication of phase optics and microfluidics is presented in this paper. The platform is based on
the use of a rotational micro-moulding technique using light-curable polymers as the media for holding the phase optics
or microfluidics. As the moulding technique essentially can be repeated in sequential steps, the method can be used for
more complex combinations of micro- and nanostructures than a simple moulding process would permit. Furthermore,
the use of light-curable polymers makes it possible to use materials with a refractive index ranging from 1.4 to 1.6
allowing for precise control of the phase shift in the replicated optical components. The use of light-curable polymers
also paves the way for subsequent modification of the surface chemistry e.g. the replicated microfluidic structure. Such
a modality is high desirable in the making of e.g. lab-on-a-chip system. The paper will address on how to use the
technology on lab-scale but also how it can be scaled to high-volume production if needed.
We present a new concept on how to remove unwanted green fluorescence from urine during Photodynamic Diagnostics of tumours in the bladder using cystoscopy. A high power LED based light source (525 nm) has been made in our laboratory. This light source is tailored to match most commercially available rigid cystoscopes. A suitable spectral filter and adapter, for the eyepiece of the cystoscope, has been selected which allows the urologist to observe both red fluorescence from tumours and autofluorescence from healthy tissue at the same time.
Photo dynamic diagnosis (PDD) is a convenient and well-documented procedure for diagnosis of bladder cancer and tumours using endoscopic techniques. At present, this procedure is available only for routine use in an operating room (OR) and often with substantial photobleaching effects of the photosensitizer. We present a novel optical design of the endoscopic PDD procedure that allows the procedure to be performed in the outpatient department (OPD) and not only in the OR. Thereby, inpatient procedures lasting 1-2 days may be replaced by a few hours lasting procedure in the OPD. Urine blurs the fluorescence during PDD used in the OPD. Urine contains fluorescent metabolites that are excited by blue light giving an opaque green fluorescence confounding the desired red fluorescence (PDD) from the tumour tissue. Measurements from the clinical situation has shown that some systems for PPD based on blue light illumination (PDD mode) and white light illumination used for bladder tumour diagnosis and surgery suffers some inherent disadvantages, i.e., photo bleaching in white light that impairs the possibility for PDD as white light usually is used before the blue light for PDD. Based on spectroscopic observations of urine and the photoactive dye Protoporphyrin IX used in PDD a novel optical system for use with the cystoscope has been devised that solves the problem of green fluorescence from urine. This and the knowledge of photo-bleaching pitfalls in established systems make it possible to perform PDD of bladder tumours in the OPD and to improve PDD in the OR.
Fiber-coupled organic plastic scintillators enable on-line dose rate monitoring in conjunction with pulsed radiation
sources like linear medical accelerators (linacs). The accelerator, however, generates a significant amount of stray
ionizing radiation. This radiation excites the long optical fiber (15-20 m), connecting the scintillator, typically with a
diameter of 1 mm and 5 mm in length, with the optical detector circuit, causing parasitic luminescence in the optical
fiber. In this paper we propose a method for circumventing this problem. The method is based on the use of an organic
scintillator, 2-Naphthoic acid, doped in an optical polymer. The organic scintillator possesses a long luminescent lifetime
(room temperature phosphorescence). The scintillator is molded onto the distal end of a polymer optical fiber. The
luminescent signal from the scintillator is detected by a PMT in photon-counting mode.
The long lifetime of the scintillator signal facilitates a temporal gating of the dose rate signal with respect to the parasitic
luminescence from the optical fiber. We will present data obtained using a solid water phantom irradiated with 6 MV Xrays
from a medical linac at the Copenhagen University Hospital. Also issues pertaining to the selection of proper matrix
as well as phosphorescent dye will be presented in this paper.
This paper pertains to the development of a system for micro replication that has been successfully implemented on a conventional flexographic printing machine. The core technology in the system is UV assisted rotational moulding using an elastomer as the micro mould and UV curable polymers as the casting material.
The feasibility of a noncontact all-optical probe for surface detection of laser-induced acoustic waves generated in buried absorbing objects was investigated. The goal is to detect subsurface optically absorbing objects, such as hemorrhages or vascularized tumors, which generate acoustic waves when slightly heated by a Q-switched laser pulse transported to an internal object by light diffusion within a turbid tissue. A dual-beam common-path interferometer was constructed to provide sensitive time-resolved detection of surface movements. Arrival of a pressure wave at one surface beam irradiation site before arrival at the other beam site caused a differential surface movement and a pathlength difference detected by the interferometer. The dynamic range of linear measurement was about 20 mbar - 200 bar at 20 mV/bar. The sensitivity (20 m V/bar) and noise level (10 - 30 mbar) of the interferometer matched or exceeded the performance of a lithium-niobate piezoelectric transducer. The point spread function of response was studied in liquid phantoms which demonstrated a null plane of no response in the plane symmetrically between the two beams. The ability to image an absorbing object at a depth of 11 mm within an aqueous phantom medium was demonstrated illustrating sub-mm resolution.
A new concept for the detection of very small changes in the refractive index of a small sample of transparent material is given. The concept is based on measuring the frequency difference between two modes of a laser (possibly a twin- laser), where the evanescent field of one mode is affected by small refractive index changes. Intracavity sensing allows for orders of magnitude greater sensitivity than with external sensing. The frequency difference is obtained by light beating of the two modes. An imbedded diffractive element ensures proper modematching for the light beating. The relative frequency change is equal to the relative change in refractive index properly averaged over the waveguide. The performance of the intracavity system is compared with a system based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The intracavity system may achieve a resolution that is 104 - 106 higher than the sensitivity of a system based on an external interferometer. The effect of thermal instability is investigated and it is discussed how the required very low thermal off-set can be maintained. Injection locking can be a problem. The problem may be solved by either introducing a fixed frequency off- set or by proper design of the cavity structure. An implementation based on III-V materials with a waveguide configuration and Bragg-mirrors is possible with existing technologies. A concept based on a polymer configuration is proposed.
Bacteriorhodopsin, a natural occuring photochromic protein present in the purple membrane of certain halophilic bacteria has been shown to posses unique optical properties. The ground state has a broad absorption band (bR) centred at 570 nm (light adapted bacteriorhodopsin) and a metastable state (M) centred at 412 nm with a thermal relaxtion time of 10 ms. The metastable can be stimulated to decay to the ground state through light in 200 ns. The thermal relaxation time can, however, be extended by five orders of magnitude through suitable chemical treatment of the purple membrane, without compromising the stimulated decay of 200 ns. At the same time, there is a concomitant change in the dipole moment accompanying trans to cis isomerization and. charge translocation across the purple membrane. Bacteriorhodopsin is also a highly nonlinear optical material with a large third-order nonlinearity. A nonlinear Kerr coefficient of 10-4 cm2 /W has been reported for this material, and new mutants are reported to possess even higher nonlinearities. This high nonlinerity enables the use of even fairly low- powered lasers to investigate nonlinear optical propagation. The time constant of the nonlinearity is on the order of a few milliseconds. We report in this talk applications of bacteriorhodopsin thin films for holographic storage, coherent-to- incoherent conversion, incoherent-to-coherent conversion, and contrast reversal of images.
A novel laser projection display utilizing an optically addressed spatial light modulator (OASLM) is presented. The OASLM is based on the photochromic protein, bacteriorhodopsin, immobilized in a thin gelatin film. The photochromism of this material facilitates the light-induced switching of the optical absorption properties of the film. In this manner, the film can dynamically be switched between a purple- and yellow-colored state within 50 microsecond(s) . Furthermore, this material is capable of more than 108 read-erase cycles without showing any sign of fatigue. This monochrome system is very suitable for radar displays, due to the high contrast of the projected images. Other possible applications include public information displays in airports and railway stations. The advantages of this projection system can be summarized as; (1) flicker-free graphics due to the temporal response of the OASLM causing no eye fatigue, (2) due to the molecular nature of the photochromic process, the spatial resolution is only limited by the scanners and projection lens, (3) as a result of the dynamic process in the OASLM, the system can be used at different ambient light levels by simply altering the intensity of the write laser and the read projection lamp simultaneously, (4) highly efficient use of the power from the projection lamp because it is actively pumping the photochromic process.
In this paper we present a new theory for nonlinear self- refraction of Gaussian laser beams in Kerr-like materials and its application to determine the third order nonlinear susceptibility in silica sono-gels doped with copper tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine. In the theory we assume that the incident Gaussian beam induces a phase shift that varies as a Gaussian function of the beam radius in the sample. The profile of the intensity in the sample is furthermore assumed to remain Gaussian. The beam propagation after the sample is determined by using the Huygens-Fresnel integral formula. By solving this complicated Huygens-Fresnel integral we obtain analytical expressions for the spatial beam profile in the near-field and in the far-field after the nonlinear sample.
Two robust systems for vibration measurements are presented. Both systems are based on low-cost laser diodes. The stability of the optical systems is achieved by implementing the optical system in a holographic optical element while using a common-path interferometer concept for the measurement scheme. The former system facilitates real-time simultaneous tracking of vibrations about two axes perpendicular to the optical axis. The latter system is an electronic speckle pattern interferometer working in a differential mode providing whole-field information on the angular deformation about one axis between two states of the object. It will be argued that these concepts will provide compact, self-aligning systems for industrial use due to the inherent possibility for mass fabrication.
Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) originating from the purple membrane of the bacterium Halobacterium Halobium has been extensively studied during the last few years for a number of optical applications. Extending the lifetime of the intermediate M-state in bR chemically, has been found to improve the sensitometric properties of bR. In this paper, a new method of extending the lifetime of the M-state in the bacteriorhodopsin photocycle is presented. The method pertains to the use of 18- crown-6 ether as an agent to extend the M-state lifetime.
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