Optics/Photonics

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A Microsoft Research Connections project proposes to develop a contact lens that monitors blood glucose levels for type 1 diabetes patients. Other non-invasive alternatives to the finger-pricking method have also been explored elsewhere — such as this tear-based glucose sensor from Arizona State University, featured in MDB last June. According to Microsoft, this is representative of a trend toward Natural User Interface (NUI) technologies — technologies that aim to provide benefits to users without being intrusive. A new device on the market, the YumaLite, also appears to fit into this category.
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Novel infrared fibers provide precision heating and curing of glues in medical device assemblies, improving workflow and design.

Adhesives are often used as the joining compound between substrates in the medical device industry. Typical applications for adhesives include tube-to-connector bonding, steel-cannula-to-hub bonding, and any other joining process. Adhesives work particularly well in the assembly of dissimilar materials where traditional solvent-welding methods are being eliminated due to workplace safety legislation and where other joining methods such as ultrasonic welding and laser welding are inadequate.
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Bern Optics (Westfield, MA) offers custom optical elements with dimensions as small as 0.20 mm. They can be custom engineered, ground, and polished to micron tolerances in a variety of configurations including lenses, prisms, axicons, filters, windows, domes, and mirrors, as well as special components with combinations of plano, spherical, and cylindrical surfaces.
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A compact fiber-optic probe initially developed for the space program has now proven valuable for patients in the clinic as the first non-invasive early detection device for cataracts, the leading cause of vision loss worldwide.

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Findings could spur the development of a clinically useful, non-invasive tool sensitive enough to detect, diagnose, and monitor lens change earlier than current methods.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide; they affect more than 20 million people and result in ~1.3 million operations annually in the United States. Current methods of cataract detection are based on subjective observation of lens opacity by Rayleigh light scattering using a slit lamp. These methods are not sensitive enough to reveal structural changes on a molecular level; they can only reveal defects once their size becomes comparable with the optical wavelength (400-600 nm). This occurs at a very late stage of cataract development.
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The SPCM-UV from Excelitas Technologies (Waltham, MA) is a UV-enhanced SPCM (Single Photon Counting Module) with peak sensitivity in the 400–500 nm range. It also offers high photon detection efficiency (PDE) at short wavelengths, low noise performance, and high dynamic range. The SPCM uses a “Geigermode” Si APD (UV-SliK™) with a circular active area that achieves a peak PDE of over 75% at 500 nm over the full 180 μm active area. The photodiode is both thermoelectrically cooled and temperature controlled. The SPCM-UV offers low dark counts down to 25 Mcps.

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Lasers are already very important tools in patient diagnostics, and it's highly likely that their usefulness in medical applications will only continue to grow over time. Recent findings suggest that they also hold the potential to advance neuron regeneration for the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

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