New imaging technology may lead to the early detection of neurological illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, allowing doctors to diagnose and treat patients more swiftly. The super-resolution imaging technique combines position emission tomography (PET) with an external motion-tracking device to provide detailed brain images. The patient’s undesired movements frequently hamper the quality of brain PET images [..]

All imaging systems consist of two main components: lenses and the spaces between them. The distances between lenses are just as critical to image formation as the lenses themselves. They can easily be greater than the summed thicknesses of the lenses. Now researchers have developed an optic called spaceplate to address this dominant contribution to [..]

High-performance mirrors are critical for constructing optical resonators in various applications in optics and photonics. Stable resonators narrow the linewidth of continuous-wave lasers, creating optical references for frequency comb stabilization and precision molecular spectroscopy. High-performance, low-loss mirrors at mid-infrared wavelengths can help researchers probe new phenomena with increased precision in chemical sensing, discrete imaging, ultracold [..]

A new human brain imaging technology employs laser light and ultrasonic sound waves. Improvements to photoacoustic computerized tomography (PACT) technology are part of the advancement. It is so precise and sensitive that the researchers could identify even minute variations in the amount of blood moving through tiny blood arteries and the oxygenation status of that [..]

The development of a blood-oxygen sensor (that clips onto your finger) eliminated the need for costly, risky, time-consuming invasive measurements that required drawing of blood and provided accurate results in real-time. Modern optoelectronics technologies have made “medicine” much more accessible, quicker, and safer. However, the blood-oxygen sensor can only measure oxygen saturation in the circulatory [..]

Researchers have developed a novel hardware design for recording neuronal activity across the three dimensions of a restrained zebrafish larva brain. This approach can help reconstruct the brain dynamics during sensory stimulation. The new design uses a traditional multiphoton microscope with an 8-kHz resonant scanner. It integrates a remote focusing system upstream based on an [..]

Scientists have begun to wonder if they are looking for the correct type of dark matter. Traditional particle physics experiments are looking for much heavier proportions. Now, researchers have repurposed existing tabletop sensor technology to look for the particles that might make up the dark matter. There is a possibility – dark photons may constitute [..]

High-performance mirrors are employed to construct optical resonators in various applications in optics and photonics. Developing low-loss mirrors like those readily available throughout the near-infrared spectral region is a long-standing goal for optics and photonics researchers. High reflectance coatings play a significant part in the fabrication of low-loss mirrors. The key performance metrics for any [..]

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. [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

Biosensors are usually designed following a three-step process: recognition of biomolecules, triggering of signal, and detection (e.g., using phase change material properties). Recognizing the biomolecules is the first and very important step in designing a biosensor system. Biosensors are useful for environmental analysis and agricultural management applications, particularly in detecting infectious diseases in crops, toxic [..]