OPTICAL AND THERMAL CHARACTERIZATION OF NATURAL (Sepia officinalis) MELANIN

Abstract The optical properties and the thermal diffusivity of natural cuttlefish ( Sepia officinalis ) melanin have been measured. The optical absorption and scattering properties of melanin particles were determined at 580 nm and 633 nm, using photometric and photothermal techniques. For the photometric studies, the absorption and the transport scattering coefficients were determined from the measurements of diffuse reflectance and transmittance. The scattering anisotropy was obtained from an additional measurement of the total attenuation coefficient and independently obtained by goniometry. For photothermal studies, pulsed photothermal radiometry was used to deduce the absorption and transport scattering coefficients via a model based on optical diffusion theory. Pulsed photothermal radiometry was also used to provide the thermal diffusivity of solid melanin pressed pellets.     

Acoustic Response of Multilayer Biostructures to Laser Irradiation and the Possibility of Using It in Surgery and Diagnostics

Aspects of the destructive action of short laser pulses on multilayer biological structures are considered theoretically. The proposed mechanisms of destruction of the native structure are cavitation, explosive evaporation, and thermocoagulation. The parameters (power and duration) of laser radiation pulses ( = 534 nm, controlling which one can choose the character of the destructive (from mechanical to pure thermal) action on the skin, have been calculated. The possibility of early diagnostics of pigmented tumors by the parameters of the hydroacoustic response of the medium is shown.     

Development of a laser photothermoacoustic frequency-swept system for subsurface imaging: theory and experiment

In conventional biomedical photoacoustic imaging systems, a pulsed laser is used to generate time-of-flight acoustic information of the subsurface features. This paper reports the theoretical and experimental development of a new frequency-domain (FD) photo-thermo-acoustic (PTA) principle featuring frequency sweep (chirp) and heterodyne modulation and lock-in detection of a continuous-wave laser source at 1064 nm wavelength. PTA imaging is a promising new technique which is being developed to detect tumor masses in turbid biological tissue. Owing to the linear relationship between the depth of acoustic signal generation and the delay time of signal arrival to the transducer, information specific to a particular depth can be associated with a particular frequency in the chirp signal. Scanning laser modulation with a linear frequency sweep method preserves the depth-to-delay time linearity and recovers FD-PTA signals from a range of depths. Preliminary results performed on rubber samples and solid tissue phantoms indicate that the FD-PTA technique has the potential to be a reliable tool for biomedical depth-profilometric imaging.     

Radiance-based monitoring of the extent of tissue coagulation during laser interstitial thermal therapy

Optical monitoring relates the dynamic changes in measured light intensity to the extent of treatment-induced coagulation that occurs during laser interstitial thermal therapy. We utilized a two-region Monte Carlo simulation to elucidate the nature of the changes in interstitial radiance and fluence that result from the formation of a volume of thermal coagulation surrounding a cylindrical emitter. Using simulation results, we demonstrate that radiance sensors are more sensitive than traditional fluence sensors to coagulation-induced scattering changes. Radiance measurements take advantage of directional detection angles that are more receptive to the onset and passing of the coagulation boundary. We performed experiments with albumen phantoms to demonstrate the practicality of the radiance method for monitoring interstitial laser thermal therapy.     

Micromachined array tip for multifocus fiber-based optical coherence tomography

High-resolution optical coherence tomography demands a large detector bandwidth and a high numerical aperture for real-time imaging, which is difficult to achieve over a large imaging depth. To resolve these conflicting requirements we propose a novel multifocus fiber-based optical coherence tomography system with a micromachined array tip. We demonstrate the fabrication of a prototype four-channel tip that maintains a 9-14-microm spot diameter with more than 500 microm of imaging depth. Images of a resolution target and a human tooth were obtained with this tip by use of a four-channel cascaded Michelson fiber-optic interferometer, scanned simultaneously at 8 kHz with geometric power distribution across the four channels.     

Autocorrelation low coherence interferometry

This paper describes the development of a new modality of optical low coherence interferometry (LCI) that is called autocorrelation LCI (ALCI). The ALCI system employs a Michelson interferometer to measure longitudinal autocorrelation properties of the sample optical field and does not require a reference beam. As the result, there is no restrictions applied on the distance between the sample and the ALCI system, moreover, this distance can even change during the measurements. We report experiments using a proof-of-principle ALCI system on a multilayer phantom consisting of three surfaces defining two regions of different refractive indices. The experimental data are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the theoretical model.     

Wide dynamic range detection of bidirectional flow in Doppler optical coherence tomography using a two-dimensional Kasai estimator

We demonstrate extended axial flow velocity detection range in a time-domain Doppler optical coherence tomography (DOCT) system using a modified Kasai velocity estimator with computations in both the axial and transverse directions. For a DOCT system with an 8 kHz rapid-scanning optical delay line, bidirectional flow experiments showed a maximum detectable speed of >56 cm/s using the axial Kasai estimator without the occurrence of aliasing, while the transverse Kasai estimator preserved the approximately 7 microm/s minimum detectable velocity to slow flow. By using a combination of transverse Kasai and axial Kasai estimators, the velocity detection dynamic range was over 100 dB. Through a fiber-optic endoscopic catheter, in vivoM-mode transesophageal imaging of the pulsatile blood flow in rat aorta was demonstrated, for what is for the first time to our knowledge, with measured peak systolic blood flow velocity of >1 m/s, while maintaining good sensitivity to detect aortic wall motion at <2 mm/s, using this 2D Kasai technique.     

Visualization of turbulence anisotropy by single exposure speckle photography

A new technique based on single exposure speckle photography is described that allows to measure the degree of anisotropy of turbulence in a flow with fluctuating fluid density or temperature.Since anisotropy is linked to shear in a flow, the method is also a means for discriminating regions of different shear rate.The research described in this publication was made possible in part by Grant RWB 000 from the International Science Foundation. The authors are also grateful to Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for partial financial support (Me 484/18).     

Scattering differentiates Alzheimer disease in vitro

The molecular bases of Alzheimer disease and related neurodegenerative disorders are becoming better understood, but the means for definitive diagnosis and monitoring in vivo remain lacking. Near-infrared optical spectroscopy offers a potential solution. We acquired transmission and reflectance spectra of thin brain tissue slabs, from which we calculated wavelength-dependent absorption and reduced scattering coefficients from 470-1000 nm. The reduced scattering coefficients in the near infrared clearly differentiated Alzheimer from control specimens. Diffuse reflectance spectra of gross brain tissue in vitro confirmed this observation. These results suggest a means for diagnosing and monitoring Alzheimer disease in vivo, using near-infrared optical spectroscopy.