Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, has been one of the most transformative medical imaging tools in the last few decades. While powerful and insightful, MRI scans are a slow technology that can frequently cause patient discomfort. A typical scan lasting 40 to 60 minutes can be overwhelming for a patient who is already in pain. [..]

Researchers have introduced the concept of metaform optics – integrating freeform optics and metasurfaces into a single optical component. This metaform architecture will benefit high-resolution optical systems with a compact form factor, such as augmented reality displays, sensors, and mobile cameras. The researchers experimentally realized a miniature imager using a metaform mirror. They used an [..]

Touch sensors in mobile phones that detect finger input on the touch screen have not changed much since their first release in the mid-​2000s. Conversely, the screens of smartphones and tablets continuously offer improved visual quality: higher color fidelity, higher resolution, and crisper contrast. Researchers have now developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that gives [..]

Extremely complex instruments can observe the oscillations of light directly. However, indirect frequency measurement is possible with frequency combs. Optical frequency combs are light waves composed of a large number of spectral lines spaced at equal distances. Two methods for generating frequency combs are exciting dissipative solitons in lasers or passive resonators. Both these methods [..]

Single-molecule localization microscopy is a super-resolution imaging technique that relies on blinking fluorescent emitters’ spatial and temporal separation. Individual localization is possible for these blinking events with a precision significantly smaller than the classical diffraction limit. This sub-diffraction localization precision depends on the number of photons emitted per molecule and sensor noise. We can estimate [..]

Medical imaging methods like Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and single-photon emission CT (SPECT) produce volumes of three‐dimensional (3D) images obtained from generating several slices in a single examination. This massive amount of medical data calls for new lossless compression methods for efficient storage and transmission. Researchers have developed [..]

Modern-day cell phone cameras advance in quality and low light sensitivity due to back-illuminated CMOS sensors and noise removal software pre-processing the captured images. These cameras’ outstanding quality and sensitivity can also act as sensitive light detectors, such as handheld cell-phone-sized Raman spectrometer, for various types of sensing. The cell-phone-based Raman and emission spectral detector, [..]

Using Organ Chips technology, researchers discovered that the antimalarial drug amodiaquine is a powerful inhibitor of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The drug testing ecosystem greatly simplifies evaluating the safety and efficacy of existing drugs for new medical applications. It serves as a proof-of-concept for the use of Organ Chips to rapidly [..]

The terahertz range holds potential for ultra-wideband wireless communications applications, including 6G and beyond, due to large and under-utilized spectral bandwidth. Terahertz communications will benefit from channelization as individual channel bandwidths will be reduced, simplifying baseband and intermediate-frequency (IF) circuits. Furthermore, passive multiplexers enable power combining of several independent sources at different frequencies, which is [..]

Researchers have developed a deepfake detection method focusing on a lightweight, low training complexity, and high-performance face biometrics technique with ideal size, weight, and power (SWaP). Deepfake refers to artificial intelligence-synthesized, hyper-realistic video content that falsely depicts individuals saying or doing something. The researchers set out to tackle the significant threat that deepfake pose to [..]

The estimation of dental age remains part of active research in forensic science. In legal proceedings, a series of clinical and radiological examinations are carried out for accurate age estimation of living individuals. The age estimation procedure often includes a physical examination, a dental examination with dental status and an X-ray of the dentition, and [..]

Researchers have developed a compact gas sensor platform that combines liquid crystals (LCs) with holographic metasurfaces to sense a volatile gas promptly and provide instantaneous feedback through a visual holographic alarm. This technology integrates the advantages of the stimuli responsiveness of LCs and the compactness of metasurfaces while maximizing the effectiveness of the sensor by [..]

Researchers demonstrate highly ultrafast x-ray optics-on-a-chip based on MEMS capable of modulating hard x-ray pulses exceeding 350 MHz, 103× higher than any other mechanical modulator, with a pulse purity >106 without compromising the spectral brilliance. Moreover, the timing characteristics of the devices can be tuned on-the-fly to deliver optimal pulse properties to create a host [..]

New gene therapy for one of the most common types of congenital blindness has proven safe and effective in improving patients’ vision. The therapy delivers functional copies of GUCY2D to the eyes of patients with severe vision impairments caused by gene mutations. Even with a low dose of gene therapy, the researchers observed long-term improvements [..]

A highly sensitive optomechanical ultrasound detector integrated into a silicon photonic chip has been developed by researchers. The device is 100 times more sensitive than state-of-the-art piezoelectric detectors of identical sizes. Their design could substantially improve the performance of ultrasound detectors in a wide variety of biomedical applications. The researchers used a new optomechanical ultrasound [..]

NMR spectroscopy is an information-dense analytical technique used to characterize materials by quantifying and determining molecular structure. Current NMR methodology is primarily limited to single-sample measurements under low-throughput conditions, which is a persistent challenge. As a result, there needs to be more alignment between applications that require screening large parameter spaces and the desire to [..]

Researchers have devised and implemented a simplified algorithm for turning freely drawn lines into holograms on a standard desktop CPU. They dramatically cut down the computational cost and power consumption of holographic algorithms that require dedicated hardware. It is fast enough to convert writing into lines in real time and makes crisp, clear images that [..]

A group of scientists used a new Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) technique to image the electron distribution in electrides, which are ionic compounds, particularly the electrons that float loosely within pockets and appear separate from the atomic network. Differential Phase Contrast (DPC) in STEM is a new technique that measures and maps a material’s [..]

Researchers at UMass Lowell are working on a pilot project to help the university identify and prioritize cost-saving repairs and energy-efficiency projects on campus. Drones equipped with infrared cameras can create thermal maps showing where buildings or underground steam pipes are losing heat and costing organizations money. These can help identify energy efficiency projects. They [..]

The world of 2D material science is exciting, with new advances opening up new possibilities, most notably through graphene adaptations. Scientists have introduced a new player to the game in the form of borophane, an ultra-thin, ultra-strong material that they hope will one day be used in advanced electronics. Borophene has several disadvantages despite its [..]