Magnetoacoustic position imaging for liquid metal in animal interstitial structure

Magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction(MAT-MI), as a new kind of in-vivo imaging method, has potential application value in interstitial fluid research. In this paper, we propose the application of MAT-MI with liquid metal serving as a tracer of the interstitial structure to study its fluid behavior, and use it to implement the positional imaging of the spatial distribution of liquid metal. Owing to the particularity of liquid metal magnetoacoustic pressure(MAP) signals, we propose an envelope analysis method to extract the rising edge of the amplitude envelope of the detected waveform as effective position data. And for the first time, we propose the method of superpositing pixel matrix to achieve the position imaging of liquid metal. Finally, the positional imaging of the liquid metal sample embedded in the gel is achieved to have relatively accurate results. This study provides a method of effectively extracting data and implementing the position imaging for liquid metal in the interstitial structure in the frame of MAT-MI.     

The noise analysis of ghost imaging in transparent liquid

Ghost imaging with a fully spatially incoherent source in transparent liquid is investigated theoretically and numerically. The effects of water depth, refractive index of media and object position on noise property of ghost imaging in transparent liquid are studied by using classical optical theory. Based on simulation results, we find that for different media, ghost imaging with high quality can be obtained by selecting appropriate water depth and object position which may be helpful for underwater ghost imaging.     

Bridging the terahertz near-field and far-field observations of liquid crystal based metamaterial absorbers

Metamaterial-based absorbers play a significant role in applications ranging from energy harvesting and thermal emitters to sensors and imaging devices.The middle dielectric layer of conventional metamaterial absorbers has always been solid.Researchers could not detect the near field distribution in this layer or utilize it effectively.Here,we use anisotropic liquid crystal as the dielectric layer to realize electrically fast tunable terahertz metamaterial absorbers.We demonstrate strong,position-dependent terahertz near-field enhancement with sub-wavelength resolution inside the metamaterial absorber.We measure the terahertz far-field absorption as the driving voltage increases.By combining experimental results with liquid crystal simulations,we verify the near-field distribution in the middle layer indirectly and bridge the nearfield and far-field observations.Our work opens new opportunities for creating high-performance,fast,tunable,terahertz metamaterial devices that can be applied in biological imaging and sensing.     

Scanning ion conductance microscopy for imaging biological samples in liquid: a comparative study with atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy

The present study was designed to show the applicability of scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) for imaging different types of biological samples. For this purpose, we first applied SICM to image collagen fibrils and showed the usefulness of the approach-retract scanning (ARS)/hopping mode for such samples with steep slopes. Comparison of SICM images with those obtained by AFM revealed that the ARS/hopping SICM mode can probe the surface topography of collagen fibrils and chromosomes at nanoscale resolution under liquid conditions. In addition, we successfully imaged cultured HeLa cells, with 15 μm in height by ARS/hopping SICM mode. Because SICM can obtain non-contact (or force-free) images, delicate cellular projections were visualized on the surface of the fixed cell. SICM imaging of live HeLa cells further demonstrated its applicability to study the morphological dynamics associated with biological processes on the time scale of minutes under liquid conditions. We further applied SICM for imaging the luminal surface of the trachea and succeeded in visualizing the surface of both ciliated and non-ciliated cells. These SICM images were comparable with those obtained by scanning electron microscopy. Although the dynamic mode of AFM provides better resolution than the ARS/hopping mode of SICM in some samples, only the latter can obtain contact-free images of samples with steep slopes, rendering it an important tool for observing live cells as well as unfixed or fixed soft samples with complicated shapes. Taken together, we demonstrate that SICM imaging, especially using an ARS/hopping mode, is a useful technique with unique capabilities for imaging the three-dimensional topography of a range of biological samples under physiologically relevant aqueous conditions.     

扫描电化学显微镜在功能材料分析中的应用

扫描电化学显微镜是一种扫描探针技术,利用微电极检测发生在固／液、液／液或者气／液界面反应物或者反应产物的连续变化。这里将对该技术原理进行详细说明。过去我们工作主要都集中在固定化酶的活性成像。最近研究的领域开始拓展到与能源转变相关材料上,如染料敏化太阳能电池和（生物）燃料电池的氧气催化还原。起初的尝试已经扩展到如何扩宽研究材料的范围和成像模式的应用范围。扫描电化学显微镜的反馈和产生～收集模式已被用于研究染料敏化太阳能电池半导体／电解质界面的光激发染料阳离子再生过程。现在开始关注更多的与太阳能的再生,燃料电池或染料敏化太阳能电池相关的复杂反应,这些复杂的反应包括外部质量传输过程、内部质量和电荷传输过程、多孔物质反应中心的本身活性等。     

Retinal axial focusing and multi-layer imaging with a liquid crystal adaptive optics camera

With the help of adaptive optics(AO) technology, cellular level imaging of living human retina can be achieved.Aiming to reduce distressing feelings and to avoid potential drug induced diseases, we attempted to image retina with dilated pupil and froze accommodation without drugs. An optimized liquid crystal adaptive optics camera was adopted for retinal imaging. A novel eye stared system was used for stimulating accommodation and fixating imaging area. Illumination sources and imaging camera kept linkage for focusing and imaging different layers. Four subjects with diverse degree of myopia were imaged. Based on the optical properties of the human eye, the eye stared system reduced the defocus to less than the typical ocular depth of focus. In this way, the illumination light can be projected on certain retina layer precisely.Since that the defocus had been compensated by the eye stared system, the adopted 512 × 512 liquid crystal spatial light modulator(LC-SLM) corrector provided the crucial spatial fidelity to fully compensate high-order aberrations. The Strehl ratio of a subject with-8 diopter myopia was improved to 0.78, which was nearly close to diffraction-limited imaging. By finely adjusting the axial displacement of illumination sources and imaging camera, cone photoreceptors, blood vessels and nerve fiber layer were clearly imaged successfully.     

Water content distribution in a polymer electrolyte membrane for advanced fuel cell system with liquid water supply

To better understand the operation of a new fuel cell design, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the water content distribution in a polymer electrolyte membrane under fuel cell operation with and without a supply of liquid water. The supply of liquid water to the membrane improved the cell performance by increasing the water content in the membrane and thus reducing the electrical resistance of the membrane. The study also showed that MRI is a promising method to investigate the distribution of water in the membrane of a fuel cell under operating conditions.     

Velocity imaging for the liquid-gas interface in the near field of an atomizing spray: proof of concept

We describe adaptation of ballistic imaging for the liquid core of an atomizing spray. To describe unambiguously the forces that act to break apart the liquid core in a spray, one must directly measure the force vectors themselves. It would be invaluable, therefore, to obtain velocity and acceleration data at the liquid-gas interface. We employ double-image ballistic imaging to extract velocity information through the application of image analysis algorithms. This method is shown to be effective for liquid phase droplet features within the resolution limit of the imaging system. In light of these results, it is clear that a three- or four-image implementation of this technique would allow the determination of acceleration, and by extension, information about the forces active in spray breakup.     

Time resolved spectroscopic NMR imaging using hyperpolarized 129Xe

We have visualized the melting and dissolution processes of xenon (Xe) ice into different solvents using the methods of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, imaging, and time resolved spectroscopic imaging by means of hyperpolarized 129Xe. Starting from the initial condition of a hyperpolarized solid Xe layer frozen on top of an ethanol (ethanol/water) ice block we measured the Xe phase transitions as a function of time and temperature. In the pure ethanol sample, pieces of Xe ice first fall through the viscous ethanol to the bottom of the sample tube and then form a thin layer of liquid Xe/ethanol. The xenon atoms are trapped in this liquid layer up to room temperature and keep their magnetization over a time period of 11 min. In the ethanol/water mixture (80 vol%/20%), most of the polarized Xe liquid first stays on top of the ethanol/water ice block and then starts to penetrate into the pores and cracks of the ethanol/water ice block. In the final stage, nearly all the Xe polarization is in the gas phase above the liquid and trapped inside the pores. NMR spectra of homogeneous samples of pure ethanol containing thermally polarized Xe and the spectroscopic images of the melting process show that very high concentrations of hyperpolarized Xe (about half of the density of liquid Xe) can be stored or delivered in pure ethanol.     

Ballistic imaging of liquid breakup processes in dense sprays

Ballistic imaging is the name applied to a category of optical techniques that were originally developed for medical applications. Recently, ballistic imaging was adapted to acquire instantaneous images of the liquid core inside atomizing sprays; a region that has been heretofore inaccessible to spray researchers. An important difference between spray research and the medical imaging problem is the need for high fidelity single-shot (within 10 μs) imaging in a spray whereas stationary tissue images can be averaged. Transient ballistic imaging diagnostics have been used to reveal details of the primary breakup process in a LOX injector, a turbulent water jet, a water jet in cross-flow, a transient diesel fuel spray, a rocket fuel injector, and an aerated spray. This paper briefly discusses various methods for imaging the liquid core, it introduces ballistic imaging and provides specific examples, it describes detailed studies of photon transmission through dense media, and it then discusses incorporation of those results into a model for a ballistic imaging instrument that can evaluate and optimize various concepts.     

充液型可调焦液态透镜

可调焦液态透镜因具备体积小、成像好、调焦方便等优点而备受瞩目.使用透明的弹性薄膜和光学平板玻璃将一定体积的液体封装在圆柱形的空腔内,当空腔内的液体体积变化时,透镜的曲率半径随之而改变,实现了透镜的可调焦.实验表明,该可调焦液态透镜有较好的成像效果,在一定液体体积变化范围内符合薄透镜成像的规律,在通讯、国防、医疗等方面具...     

Viscous to inertial crossover in liquid drop coalescence

Using an electrical method and high-speed imaging, we probe drop coalescence down to 10?ns after the drops touch. By varying the liquid viscosity over two decades, we conclude that, at a sufficiently low approach velocity where deformation is not present, the drops coalesce with an unexpectedly late crossover time between a regime dominated by viscous and one dominated by inertial effects. We argue that the late crossover, not accounted for in the theory, can be explained by an appropriate choice of length scales present in the flow geometry.     

Time resolved spectroscopic NMR imaging using hyperpolarized Xe

We have visualized the melting and dissolution processes of xenon (Xe) ice into different solvents using the methods of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, imaging, and time resolved spectroscopic imaging by means of hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe. Starting from the initial condition of a hyperpolarized solid Xe layer frozen on top of an ethanol (ethanol/water) ice block we measured the Xe phase transitions as a function of time and temperature. In the pure ethanol sample, pieces of Xe ice first fall through the viscous ethanol to the bottom of the sample tube and then form a thin layer of liquid Xe/ethanol. The xenon atoms are trapped in this liquid layer up to room temperature and keep their magnetization over a time period of 11 min. In the ethanol/water mixture (80 vol%/20%), most of the polarized Xe liquid first stays on top of the ethanol/water ice block and then starts to penetrate into the pores and cracks of the ethanol/water ice block. In the final stage, nearly all the Xe polarization is in the gas phase above the liquid and trapped inside the pores. NMR spectra of homogeneous samples of pure ethanol containing thermally polarized Xe and the spectroscopic images of the melting process show that very high concentrations of hyperpolarized Xe (about half of the density of liquid Xe) can be stored or delivered in pure ethanol.     

近红外光谱成像系统在液体安检中的应用

易燃易爆液体的实时、远程和动态探测对于保障公共安全具有重要意义,在公安、民航和海关等领域应用前景广阔。研制了基于液晶可调滤光片的近红外光谱成像系统,通过波长优选算法大幅降低了光谱通道数,有效提高了扫描成像速度和数据处理速度,可实现对低速运动的液体危险品的远程和实时检测。利用该系统开展了不同环境下对易燃易爆液体的检测实验,结果表明该系统对静态目标检测精度为100%,对速度小于0.2 m/s的运动目标检测精度高于95%。     

液晶光谱成像技术研究进展

液晶光谱成像技术是基于液晶可调滤光片的新型光谱成像技术.利用向列相液晶材料的电控双折射效应,液晶可调滤光片可在工作谱段内进行连续光谱调谐,实现光谱成像系统的小型化、多用途、实时控制.获取高空间分辫率和高光谱分辫率的光谱图像,是今后航天航空遥感的一个重要发展方向.结合液晶光谱成像技术的国内外研究进展,分析了其目前存在的主...     

Acoustic field imaging by light reflection at the free surface of a liquid

In this paper we present a novel technique for acoustic field imaging. This technique is based on reflection of a collimated laser beam at the free surface of a liquid. The reflected beam becomes phase modulated by the acoustic wave as in acoustical holographic systems. We do not use a reference acoustical beam for holographic reconstruction but we observe this phase modulation using dark-field techniques. It gives a measurement of the acoustic field power as a function of the position. The authors have built an optical imaging system and carried out experiments with piezocomposite transducers. The technique presented in this work is able to give fast quantitative information about the performance of individual ceramic rods of the piezocomposite.     

Recent Advances of Diffraction Tomography in Geophysics,Ultrasonics, and Optics

A tutorial review of diffraction tomography is given along with an overview of recent advances of this technique in borehole geophysics, ultrasonic imaging, and optical microscopy. First, the basic principles of diffraction tomography are presented. Then, we discuss a generalized inversion algorithm, valid for irregularly spaced data and a non-uniform background, and present reconstructions based on ultrasonic water tank data and underground georadar data. Next, we discuss a hybrid filtered backpropagation algorithm for ultrasonic and optical imaging. Quantitative images, based on experimental data, are presented of objects embedded in water or in biological tissue and probed by ultrasound, and of fibers embedded in an index matching liquid and probed by laser light.     

Coherent X-ray diffraction imaging of nanoengineered polymeric capsules

For the first time, nanoengineered polymeric capsules and their architecture have been studied with coherent X-ray diffraction imaging technique. The use of coherent X-ray diffraction imaging technique allowed us to analyze the samples immersed in a liquid. We report about the significant difference between polymeric capsule architectures under dry and liquid conditions.     

Proton electron double resonance imaging of free radical distribution in environmental science applications--first results and perspectives

In this contribution, we explore the potential of proton electron double resonance imaging (PEDRI) in environmental science (hydrogeological) applications. After a discussion of the hydrogeological motivation for studies of free radical transport in environmental matrices, we present results from first experiments that show the principal applicability of the PEDRI technique to sediment samples. Field-cycled (FC) relaxation time contrast is identified as a possible source of artifacts in samples in which strong concentration gradients of the free radical phase are present. Furthermore, an outlook is given on how PEDRI can help in observations of the local interplay among contaminants, water and nonaqueous liquid phases.