Optics/Photonics

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Single fiber endoscope increases resolution fourfold over previous similar devices.

Engineers at Stanford University have developed and demonstrated a prototype single-fiber endoscope that, they say, quadruples the resolution over existing designs, which might lead to the development of needle-thin, minimally invasive endoscopes able to view features out of reach of today’s instruments.
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Medical lasers must be cooled either by premounted or portable chiller systems.

Laser systems continue to grow in application use throughout the medical industry. Applications for laser systems include diagnostic analysis systems, DNA sequencing systems, dental cleaning and surgery, skin care, eye surgery, tattoo removal, and much more. These systems commonly require cooling of the laser and other electronic components either by air flow on lower power laser systems, or by fluid circulation/chiller systems on higher power lasers. Higher power laser require an increased level of cooling capacity that results in systems that provide several gallons per minute of fluid circulation. This increased flow rate will maintain the laser and other electronics at the proper operating conditions.
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Today, a wide array of laser technologies support an amazingly diverse range of medical and biomedical applications. In fact, it would take a large volume to discuss all the current uses of lasers in medicine. This article selects just four representative examples, and shows how key developments in disparate laser technologies have enabled or enhanced each particular procedure.
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Werth, Inc., Old Saybrook, CT, introduces a low cost machine with a high-end image processor optical system that evaluates all pixels in the field of view, which enables filtering and image enhancement that goes beyond the limitations of the old edge detector optics. The new EasyScope machine has a measuring range of 200 x 150 x 150 mm and features the same WinWerth software as on high end models. BIOMEDevice Booth 917
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JENOPTIK I Lasers & Material Processing, Jena, Germany, has improved the laser parameters of its JenLas® D2.fs. The pulse repetition rate has been increased to more than 500 kilohertz and the output power by 25 percent. This femtosecond laser can be used in micro-processing as well as medical applications where minimal thermal heat input and excellent cutting quality are needed, such as in stent manufacturing, precision drilling of injectors, and processing of displays.
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The LMV1000G diode-pumped high speed precision laser from Miyachi Unitek, Monrovia, CA, is specifically designed for laser engraving or marking applications on plastics and reflective metals. Its focus spot diameter is 50 percent smaller, and the energy density is four times stronger than the 1064nm wavelength, enabling highly precise marking on a wider range of materials. MD&M Florida, Booth 528.
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University of California-Irvine neuroscientists have developed a unique method to stop severe episodes of epileptic seizures with fiber optic light signals. Using a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy, the research team created an EEG-based computer system that activates hair-thin optical strands implanted in the brain when it detects a real-time seizure. The fibers subsequently “turn on” specially expressed, light-sensitive proteins called opsins, which can either stimulate or inhibit specific neurons during seizures. They found that this process could stop ongoing electrical seizure activity and reduce the incidence of severe events.

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Fine thin metal laser cutting is an ideal technology for the specialized cutting requirements found in the manufacturing of medical tube tools and components, which require an array of cut features with sharp edges, contours, and patterns within edges. From surgical instruments used in cutting and biopsy, to needles containing unusual tips and side wall openings, to puzzle chain linkages for flexible endoscopes, laser cutting provides higher precision, quality, and speed than traditionally used cutting techniques.
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Global population aging is unprecedented: the global population of children under age five is expected to fall by 49 million by midcentury, while the number of people over age 60 will grow by 1.2 billion, according to the United Nations. An aging population brings with it increased demands on healthcare systems. Governments have to reduce healthcare costs while maintaining quality of life. Today, illnesses are treated according to symptoms, but, in the future, with the help of lasers it will be possible to detect and cure illnesses before their critical phase and, hence, cut the high costs of hospitalization.
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A brain implant developed at Monash Vision Group (MVG) — a collaboration between Monash University, Alfred Health, MiniFAB, and Grey Innovation — could bring sight to up to 85% of clinically blind people, including patients affected by three of the most common untreatable causes of blindness: diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. It could also help patients with an intact visual cortex, who have previously had normal visual development, and patients with acquired retinal, optic nerve, or ocular disease. MVG aims to deliver a commercially viable bionic eye system suitable for people with deteriorating vision with the following capabilities:
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With careful planning, system integrators can select the optimal optics, filters, light sources, and cameras for their medical diagnostic instrumentation.

Custom integration of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products can be complex, particularly for medical device integrators that build diagnostic instruments incorporating numerous optical components. Often, objective lenses, illumination sources, and imaging detectors are assembled and custom-mounted into finished instruments. Such components must not only meet stringent performance requirements, but often have to meet established Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards.
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In the 1980s, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientists James Stephens and Charles Miller were studying the harmful properties of light in space, as well as that of artificial radiation produced during laser and welding work. The intense light emitted during welding can harm unprotected eyes, leading to a condition called arc eye, in which ultraviolet light causes inflammation of the cornea and long-term retinal damage.
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Power Technology (Little Rock, AR) has introduced additional blue laser diode wavelengths and power levels. The laser diodes can be installed in an assortment of PTI modules, including laserinduced fluorescence, confocal microscopy, high-resolution printing, flow cytometry, and Raman spectroscopy. The new offerings include: 375 nm 200 mW, 395 nm 120mW, 415nm 120mW, 420nm 120mW, and 460nm 100mW. Features include active temperature control, availability of beam circularization and modulated versions, and an adjustable focus.
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Jenoptik (Jena, Germany) has launched the JenLas® D2.mini 5/8W, a diode-pumped thin-disk laser that provides up to 8 W output for applications in medicine as well as for entertainment. The laser can be used for laser therapy in aesthetics and dermatology. This doubled-frequency, diode-pumped, thin-disk laser operates at the wavelength of 532 nm.
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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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Accuratus (Phillipsburg, NJ) offers light-reflecting ceramic that maximizes light uniformity and intensity in high-energy laser systems, LED-based therapies, and intense pulsed light sources. The total reflectance exceeds 90 percent from 450 nm to 2.5 microns, covering the visible and near-infrared wavelengths.
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Amplitude Systemes (Bordeaux, France) offers the s-Pulse HP ultrafast laser, designed to process medical devices such as stents, percutaneous valves, catheters, and electrodes. It can cut cobalt-chrome and Nitinol stents as well as polymer stents with no heat effects, without changing material properties. The shape-memory capacity of the alloy remains unchanged. The laser generates ultra-short pulses under 500 femtoseconds, enabling the processing of stents and brain micro stents without any burrs, recasting, or micro-cracking. It offers high energy capabilities (up to 2mJ) for thick stents and high repetition rate (up to 300 kHz), and is available with infrared, green, and UV output.
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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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According to Pantec Biosolutions AG (Liechtenstein, Europe), the global aesthetic market, which includes skin rejuvenation, is expected to grow from a $4.4 billion market in 2010 to a $7.5 billion market in 2015. Meanwhile, the market for transdermal drug delivery is growing rapidly and is expected to be a multi-billion dollar market by 2015. Designed for medical professionals and consumers, these new devices offer a precise delivery method for a variety of medical applications, such as skin rejuvenation, in-vitro fertilization, and vaccinations.
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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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Results of a two-year clinical trial indicate that a NASA technology originally developed for plant growth experiments on space shuttle missions has successfully reduced the painful side effects resulting from chemotherapy and radiation treatment in bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients.
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