Researchers have made strides toward improving the performance of mixture-based quarter-wave plate laser beam splitter (PLBS) coatings. Because of their unique optical properties, plate beam splitters find uses in quantum communication, measurement, and laser systems. The quarter-wave plate laser beam splitter must have a specific spectral performance in high-power laser systems. It also requires a [..]

Fundus photography is essential in ophthalmology to screen, diagnose, and manage eye diseases. Wide-field fundus photography has demonstrated its utility in the clinical management of eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, hypertensive retinopathy, retinal detachments, and vascular pathologies (vascular occlusions, vasculitis, etc.) with ocular metastasis. Choroidal and retinal imaging [..]

Researchers have developed a new ultrasensitive optical sensing instrument that could benefit science, medicine, and engineering. It is known as a Mach Zehnder-Fabry Perot (MZ-FP) hybrid fiber interferometer. It combines the benefits of the two types of interferometers currently available, making it compact and highly sensitive. Interferometers are precision measuring devices that work by creating [..]

MRI, electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG) have been the most widely used techniques to study brain activity for many years. A new study introduces a novel, AI-based dynamic brain imaging technology that can map rapidly changing electrical activity in the brain at high speed, high resolution, and low cost. The breakthrough follows more than 30 [..]

Researchers used the light-guiding properties of spider silk to create a sensor that can detect and measure tiny changes in the refractive index of a biological solution, such as glucose or other sugar solutions. The new light-based sensor could be useful for measuring blood sugar and other biochemical analytes in the future. Glucose sensors are [..]

Currently, ultrasound imaging necessitates using large, specialized equipment only available in hospitals and doctor’s offices. On the other hand, a new design could make the technology as wearable and accessible as buying Band-Aids at the pharmacy. A new ultrasound sticker, the size of a stamp, adheres to the skin and can provide continuous ultrasound imaging [..]

Mutations in RAS genes, which cause tumor growth in about a quarter of all cancer patients, are among the most infamous cancer drivers. Scientists have solved the molecular structure of SHOC2, a RAS-pathway protein, and two other proteins (that it binds to). The SHOC2-MRAS-PP1C (“SMP”) complex, a three-protein assembly, regulates the RAS signaling pathway and [..]

Researchers have developed a new, lighter convolutional neural network (CNN) model for facial expression recognition. The findings describe an Xception-based model that balances training speed, memory usage, and recognition accuracy. The original Xception model has 71 layers and can load a pre-trained version of the network trained on over a million images from the ImageNet [..]

Researchers have created a self-calibrated photonic chip that builds bridges between data superhighways, revolutionizing the connectivity of current optical chips and replacing bulky 3D optics with a wafer-thin slice of silicon. This development can warp-speed the global advancement of artificial intelligence and offers significant real-world applications such as: autonomous vehicles that interpret their surroundings rapidly [..]

A novel somatostatin-receptor (SSTR) targeting peptide — 18F-SiTATE — has provided excellent imaging in meningioma patients, identifying bone involvement and lesions previously undetected on standard morphological imaging. The PET imaging agent, 18F-SiTATE, has a longer half-life and can be produced in large quantities by a cyclotron, which offers significant logistical advantages over the 68Ga-labeled ligands [..]

A new single-mode optical fiber made from sapphire rather than the usual silica can withstand temperatures of over 2000°C as well as high levels of radiation. Although the fiber’s length is currently limited to 1 cm, the technique used to construct it could be extended up to several meters, making it useful for remote sensing [..]

Scientists studied the implementation of neutron transmutation doping (NTD) to manipulate electron transfer. NTD is a controllable in-situ substitutional doping method. It utilizes the nuclear reactions of thermal neutrons with the nuclei of the atoms in semiconductors. The process provides a new way to dope 2D materials intentionally without extra reagents. Even after fabrication, it [..]

Researchers have developed a highly accurate and sensitive virus detection method using Raman spectroscopy, a portable virus capture device, and machine learning. The device could enable real-time virus detection and identification to help battle future pandemics. The new virus detection method is label-free and not aimed at any specific virus, thus enabling researchers to identify [..]

Researchers have developed a curvelet-based algorithm to quickly measure and reconstruct whole-brain vasculature and brain blood flow in mice. The work could enable future research into the neurovascular mechanisms underlying conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. The new approach deploys ultrasound technology to produce whole-brain images of animal microvasculature in just a few seconds. Instead of averaging [..]

Microfluidic devices use tiny spaces to manipulate very small quantities of liquids and gasses by taking advantage of the properties they exhibit at the microscale. They have demonstrated usefulness in applications from inkjet printing to chemical analysis. They have great potential in personalized medicine, where they can miniaturize many tests that now require a full [..]

Researchers have developed a new way to 3D-print glass microstructures that is faster and produces objects with higher optical quality, design flexibility, and strength. The researchers expanded the capabilities of a 3D-printing process they developed three years ago — computed axial lithography (CAL) — to print much finer features and to print in glass. They [..]

High-performance wavelength discrimination in the long-wave infrared region (LWIR) of the electromagnetic spectrum (wavelength range from 8 microns to 12 microns) is desirable for civilian and military applications. Of particular importance is to achieve on-chip passive thermal imaging with spectral filters, allowing remote target recognition without requiring any light source for illumination since objects emit [..]

Temperature monitoring with a high spatial and temporal resolution is vital in various disciplines, including industrial manufacturing, environmental protection, and healthcare monitoring. Because of their benefits of remote detection, minimum intrusion, tolerance to electromagnetic interference, and high resolution, optical-based sensors offer attractive alternatives for temperature monitoring in biological diagnostics. The luminous intensity, wavelength, peak width, [..]

Researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, light-induced thermomagnetic recording in a magnetic thin-film on silicon waveguides. The new writing technique is poised to enable miniature high-performance magneto-optical memories that don’t require bulky optics or mechanical rotation. The devices are nonvolatile — meaning that data is saved even when no power is supplied to the [..]

Consumers are looking for AR/VR glasses that are compact and easy to wear, delivering high-quality imagery with socially acceptable optics that don’t look like “bug eyes.” Researchers have developed a novel technology to deliver those attributes with maximum effect. The researchers imprinted freeform optics with a nanophotonic optical element called a metasurface. The metasurface is [..]