This paper explores the potential of optical coherence microscopy (OCM) for the in situ monitoring of biofilm growth. The quantitative imaging of the early developmental biology of a representative biofilm, Klebsiella pneumonia (KP-1), was performed using a swept source-based Fourier domain OCM system. The growth dynamics of the KP-1 biofilms and their transient response under perturbation was investigated using the enface visualization of microcolonies and their spatial localization. Furthermore, the optical density (OD) and planar density of the biofilms are calculated using an OCM technique and compared with OD and colony forming units measured using standard procedures via the sampling of the flow-cell effluent.
Optical frequency domain imaging system (OFDI) in the 1300nm biological imaging window is demonstrated by using a high speed frequency swept laser source. The output of the laser with central wave length of 1320nm is continuously tuned over a bandwidth of 100nm with a repetition rate of 16 KHz. The laser source has an instantaneous coherence length of 6mm and delivers an average power of 12mW. Axial resolution ~ 6μm in the biological tissue and peak sensitivity of 110dB are achieved. The experimentally determined values of the imaging parameters such as the axial resolution, sensitivity and depth range are found to be in good agreement with the theoretically estimated values. The developed system is capable of generating the images of size 512x1024 at a rate of 20 frames per second. High resolution and high contrast images of the finger nail and anterior chamber of a pig’s eye acquired using the developed OFDI system are presented, which demonstrate the feasibility of the system for in-vivo biomedical imaging applications.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive, non-contact optical measurement and imaging technique that relies on low coherence interferometry. Apart from bio-imaging applications, the applicability of OCT can be extended to metrological investigations because of the inherent capability of optical interferometry to perform precise measurement with high sensitivity. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of OCT for the measurement of the refractive index and thickness of bacterial biofilm structures grown in a flow cell. In OCT, the depth profiles are constructed by measuring the magnitude and time delay of back reflected light from the scattering sites by means of optical interferometry. The optical distance between scattering points can be obtained by measuring the separation between the point spread functions (PSF) at the respective points in the A-scan data. The refractive index of the biofilm is calculated by measuring the apparent shift in the position of the PSF corresponding to a reference surface, caused by the biofilm growth. In our experiment, the base layer of the flow cell is used as the reference surface. It is observed that the calculated refractive index of the biofilm is close to that of water, and agrees well with the previously reported value. Finally, the physical thickness of the biofilm is calculated by dividing the optical path length by the calculated value of refractive index.
In this paper, the flexural behavior was investigated at different temperatures and different cross-head speeds with and without diffusion effect. The studied material is carbon fiber reinforced derakane epoxy composite. The testing temperature was set at 30, 50, 80 and 100°C to investigate the temperature effect on flexural strength. At each temperature, the testing was conducted at four different cross head speeds (0.05, 0.2, 2 and 20mm/min). The diffusion effect was studied on flexural strength with specimens soaked in sea water at 50°C to saturate. A master curve of flexural strength was formed based on time-temperature superposition principle (TTSP) with shift factor obtained by DMA test. Based on the master curve, the flexural strength was predicted with a 35% drop after using 30 years in an ideal condition without considering pressure, stress, diffusion and so on.
Since composite material is playing an increasingly important role in the marine and offshore drilling industry, it is essential to have a good understanding on degradation of the material in the seawater environment. This study investigates the influence of seawater exposure on the mechanical and failure behavior of E-Glass/BMI composite. The water diffusion behavior in the composite has been studied through immersing the specimens in seawater under different conditions. The diffusion rate accelerates with increase of temperature, and the material shows irreversible damage due to seawater absorption at the temperature of 80°C. It is also found that external stress would significantly increase the water absorption. The water uptake in the specimen at 50°C showed a two stage behavior dominated by Fickian law and polymeric relaxation respectively, and saturation was not achieved in 8 months. After diffusion, the Tg of the material is considerably lowered due to plasticization effect. However the effect was found to be reversible after drying the specimen. Based on the testing results of tensile, flexure and fatigue properties of the composites, it is concluded that seawater exposure especially at elevated temperature leads to significant degradation on mechanical properties of the composite. However, the flexural strength of BMI composite with seawater absorption becomes less susceptible to temperature change. It is also found that the seawater absorption doesn't show significant effect on the stiffness of the material.
We present the implementation of a fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) system for cellular
characterisation. FLIM system can be used as an investigative tool to identify minor biochemical changes in cellular
abnormalities. These subtle changes could possibly alter cellular fluorescence properties such as emission wavelength
and lifetime. In this study, the fluorescence lifetime of haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained tissues were investigated
using a wide-field time-domain FLIM system. The transient response of epithelial fluorescence was investigated and the
lifetime extracted using a bi-exponential model. It was found that the fluorescence lifetimes of eosin can be correlated to
the tissue histology. The preliminary result suggests that tumor-associated molecules are retained in the tissues even after
tissue fixation and staining. The developed FLIM system was successfully applied to detect the histological changes in
the tissue samples. Optimization of system parameters is also discussed.
A flexible fiber optic endoscope system for investigations in medical cavities using specially designed probe distal and proximal ends so as to facilitate speckle correlation analysis and simultaneous cavity imaging is presented in this paper. The design of the endoscope probe and associated detection system facilitating the analysis of deformation components and their derivatives in cavity surfaces is discussed. The distal end of the probe consists of a single fiber optic port for illumination and an imaging lens-image fiber unit for imaging the reflected speckle pattern from the cavity surface. An optical component selection unit is designed and used at the probe proximal end, for switching between deformation and derivative configurations. Theoretical analysis regarding speckle fringe formation on curved surfaces, for out-of-plane and shear configurations are discussed. Preliminary experimental investigations using the developed probe on inner surfaces of curved phantom tissue specimens are carried out for the abnormal growth detection and the results are analyzed. The obtained experimental results are compared with the developed theory. This probe system and its associated concepts may later lead into the improvements of currently used surgical assisted endoscopic techniques for early cancer diagnosis.
Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) in frequency domain enables the mapping of the spatial distribution of fluorescence lifetimes of a specimen. FLIM can provide unique information about fluorophores and hence is widely used in biology and for medical diagnostics. In this paper, a theoretical analysis for the fluorescence lifetime determination of latent fingerprint samples is described, which is followed by the feasibility study of using FLIM in frequency domain for latent fingerprints detection. Experiments are carried out with fingerprint on green paper substrate and postcard substrate treated with certain fluorescent powder. The total phase lag and demodulation factor are calculated to determine the lifetimes pixel by pixel. The resulting fluorescence lifetime image of fingerprint revealed an improvement in the contrast, and was able to detect the latent fingerprint clearly.
In this paper, we present the design of an endoscope probe, which can image the inner cavity walls as well as collect fluorescence emission from the same cavity inner surfaces, for disease diagnosis in body cavities. The probe makes use of a single coherent laser illumination / excitation source for both modalities. An imaging lens at the probe end collects the fluorescence emission as well as the image from the test surface. Two types of imaging lens are used in the probe and their fluorescence collection efficiencies and imaging capabilities are compared with each other. An eyepiece at the end of the probe directs the transmitted light into a CCD camera / Monochromator through selected filters to display the image / analyze the emission spectrum. The developed probe has been tested in a phantom colon model, where cancerous growths and fluorophores are simulated, so as to illustrate the probe diagnostic efficiency.
A novel homodyne signal processing assisted phase-resolved optical system for the imaging of latent fingerprints is proposed. A multistep phase shifting method is introduced to remove the DC part of the fluorescence signals. Experiments are carried out with simulated fingerprint samples where their lifetime and emission wavelength are in close range to that of background fluorescence. The proposed phase-resolved technique can suppress the background fluorescence provided there is lifetime difference between two emissions.
A theoretical model, which describes both the spatial distributions of photons in fluorescence endoscopic images for the detection of cancerous cells in the intra cavities of human body, specifically gastrointestinal path is presented in this paper. The design concept of the image probe, which was developed for collecting the low fluorescent emission using an excitation laser source and the imaging done through novel imaging lens scheme will be discussed with its advantages and limitations in comparison with the existing imaging schemes. Finally, a quantitative analysis done by varying the different parameters affecting the tissue fluorescence is discussed in this paper.
This paper describes a quasi-distributed optical fiber strain sensor whose principle of operation is based on the coherent frequency-modulated continuous-wave reflectometry technique. The sensing system is basically composed of a laser diode, which is frequency-swept by a triangle waveform injection current, and an unbalanced two-beam interferometer.
This paper presents analysis and simulation results describing the feasibility of a modified distributed optical fiber strain sensor whose principle of operation is based on the frequency-modulated continuous-wave reflectometry technique. The sensor consists of a frequency-swept laser diode and an unbalanced two-beam interferometer. In this system, the test arm comprises a number of single-mode fibers, which at as the sensing fibers, with a mirror at the far end and mechanical splices as the connectors, as well as the reflectors. The strain variation of the sensing fiber is measured by demodulating the phase shift of the beat signal using a heterodyne signal processing system, and therefore the requirement of a high precision temperature control of light source can be eliminated in this way. The measuring resolution of ht strain was found to be inversly proportional to the optical path difference between the reference are and the test arm. Experimental results showed that the theoretical value and accuracy were achieved.
This paper describes a new quasi-distributed optical fiber strain sensor which is based on the coherent frequency- modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) reflectometry technique. The sensor comprises a laser diode and an unbalanced two- beam interferometer. Its test arm consists of a number of single-mode fibers, which act as the sensing fibers, with a mirror at the far end and mechanical splices as the connectors, as well as the reflectors. Theoretical analysis shows that the measuring resolution of the strain is inversely proportional to the gauge length of each sensing fiber. The strain variation of each sensing fiber can be measured by demodulating the phase shifts of the beat signals using a heterodyne signal processing system. To calibrate and verify the feasibility and accuracy of this sensing system, tensile and bending tests were carried out and their results were calculated and compared with the readings from strain gauge. Experimental results showed that this system is feasible and it has an excellent accuracy.
A unique structure of microbend optical fiber sensor (MOFS) for measuring tensile and compressive strain is described in this paper. The average measuring sensitivity for tensile strain is 35 (mu) (epsilon) using 3 MOFS arrays. The repeatability and stability of MOFS are better than 18 (mu) (epsilon) . The loss sensitivity of single-mode (SM) fiber and multi-mode (MM) fiber used in MOFS, as well as the relationship between the pulse width of diode laser and loss sensitivity are also studied in this paper. From these studied, some conclusions have been obtained. There are 1) the los sensitivity and repeatability of SM fiber are better when compared to MM fiber in MOFS, and 2) the variation of pulse width of laser would only influent the signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range, but has no contribution to loss sensitivity. Experimental result also show that loss of SM fiber highly depends on the wavelength of laser, but MM fiber has no such property. The loss of Sm fiber between the wavelength of 1550nm and 1310nm is about the ratio of 6.5. Therefore, the experiments reported in this paper used wavelength of 1310nm to measure tensile strain and 1550nm to measure compressive strain based on the above property of SM fiber, without changing the configuration of MOFS.
This paper presents a proposal for an optical gas monitoring system based on fieldbus. With the help of the advanced signal processing system more than one hundred gas detectors can be connected to a host system by a single shared bus cable over which the gas detectors, now incorporating with their own intelligence, communicate digitally with the host system. The new system supplies not only about the gas level but also about the physical condition of each sensor. Planed maintenance can be performed to ensure that gas monitor system is maintained in full working order. Integrating fieldbus with optical gas sensor will also have dramatic saving in field wiring and the man-hours for system verification and configuration.
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