Researchers have made an inexpensive and portable high-resolution 3D printed microscope that is small and robust enough to use in the field or at the bedside. The high-resolution 3D images provided by the instrument could potentially be used to detect diabetes, sickle cell disease, malaria, and other diseases. The new microscope doesn’t require any special [..]

Researchers have shown that existing light field technology could be used to produce microscopic 3-D images of tissue inside the body, paving the way toward 3-D optical biopsies. Unlike normal biopsies where tissue is harvested and sent off to a lab for analysis, optical biopsies enable clinicians to examine living tissue within the body in [..]

Researchers have developed a technique for in vivo super-resolution photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) that breaks the acoustic diffraction limit by localizing the centers of single dyed droplets flowing in blood vessels. This technique has been shown to resolve brain blood vessels at a sixfold finer resolution. Photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) is a noninvasive hybrid imaging [..]

Researchers have developed technology for microscopic imaging in living organisms. A miniaturized multiphoton microscopy device, which could be used in an endoscope in the future, excites the body’s own molecules to illuminate and enables cells and tissue structures to be imaged without the use of synthetic contrast agents. It is often necessary to examine tissue [..]

Scientists have discovered a new laser processing method to passivate defects in next-generation optical materials to improve optical quality and enable the miniaturization of light-emitting diodes and other optical elements. From a chemistry standpoint, they have discovered a new photocatalytic reaction using laser light and water molecules. The research enables the integration of high-quality, optically [..]

Engineers have developed a compact, single-shot, free-space-coupled spectrometer with hyperspectral imaging capabilities. The miniaturized spectrometer is fabricated on top of and integrated with a CMOS chip. The device measures 200 microns on each side. It can lie directly on a sensor from a typical digital camera. The miniaturized spectrometer and hyperspectral imager are based on [..]

Researchers have combined the physics of dielectric metasurfaces and hyperspectral imaging to create an ultrasensitive, label-free biosensing platform. The platform can detect and analyze samples at spatial concentrations of less than three molecules per square micron. It could ultimately enable compact portable diagnostics for personalized medicine. It could also offer a route to high-throughput, high-resolution [..]

Researchers have developed silicon chip technology similar to that found in personal computers and mobile phones to function as biosensors. It is an essential step toward performing medical diagnoses using handheld devices. The technology eliminates all complex and bulky optical instrumentation used in diagnostic labs by using tiny metal layers embedded in a microchip. As [..]

New photonic imaging tools can help to understand better the nonlinear behavior of laser light in human blood. A laser beam shining through red blood cell suspensions can become “self-trapped,” according to researchers. The process reduced light scattering to maintain the power of laser beams. The observed nonlinearity was affected by osmotic conditions and sample [..]

A group of researchers discovered that harmless purple bacteria from the genus Rhodobacter could visualize aspects of tumor heterogeneity in cancerous tumors. The researchers used these microorganisms to visualize immune system cells known as macrophages, which also play a role in tumor development, using optoacoustic imaging. The researchers developed the imaging technique that indicates where [..]

Using novel nanofabrication techniques, researchers have built micro-robots from silicon powered by solar cells. A 4-in. silicon wafer can help produce one million functional microscopic robots. The robots’ bodies form from a superthin rectangular skeleton of glass topped with a thin layer of silicon, into which the researchers have etched electronics control components and either two [..]

Infrared cameras can detect the invisible light emitted by plants as they photosynthesize, cool stars burn, and batteries heat up. Infrared light has less energy than visible light, making it more challenging to capture. A quantum dot technology breakthrough could one day lead to much more affordable infrared cameras, allowing infrared cameras for everyday consumer [..]

Digital holographic microscopy can reconstruct the images of 3D samples from a single hologram at a fraction of the size and cost of a standard bright-field microscope. It has enabled a plethora of hand-held holographic devices for biomedical diagnostics. Despite these benefits, holographic microscope images generally suffer from light interference-related spatial artifacts, which can limit [..]

Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) can quickly generate stunning 3-D images of intact organs and tiny organisms like zebrafish and mouse brains. However, the samples must typically be immobilized in a stiff gel to obtain those images. This requirement limits the technique’s use in some studies of biological dynamics and aspects of drug discovery. A team [..]

Quantum dots, semiconductor particles small enough to contain single electrons, are a promising laser light source for specific applications. Although careful selection of the semiconductor material can effectively tune the output of quantum dot lasers, structural flaws tend to split the output into multiple wavelengths. A group of researchers has proposed a possible solution in [..]

A new, simple, low-cost method for controlling particle motion and assembly within liquids using ultraviolet light could improve drug delivery, chemical sensors, and fluid pumps. The method encourages particles, ranging from plastic microbeads to bacterial spores to pollutants, to assemble and organize in a specific location within a liquid and, if desired, to move to [..]

Acrylic and polycarbonate lenses are used in a wide range of optical applications; however, the inorganic antireflection (AR) coatings that improve the performance of glass lenses are difficult to apply to plastic optical surfaces. Researchers created a method for coating these plastic lenses with a fluoropolymer that adheres well and even makes the surfaces appear [..]

Deep biological tissue imaging has long been problematic. Complex media such as biological tissue scatters the light, bouncing inside until it emerges at various angles. Subsequently, it distorts the focus of optical microscopes, reducing both resolution and imaging depth. Longer wavelength light can help to avoid scattering, but it also reduces imaging resolution. Instead of [..]

A group of researchers has developed a noninvasive light-sensitive photoactivatable recombinase that enhances in-vivo genetic manipulation. The photoactivatable Flp recombinase’s highly light-sensitive property will be ideal for controlling genetic manipulation in deep mouse brain regions via noninvasive light-emitting diode illumination. This optogenetic module will provide neuroscience researchers with a side-effect-free and expandable genetic manipulation tool. [..]

Lenses work with various wavelengths and applications, including phone cameras, microscopes, and sensors. They must, first and foremost, be able to focus light regardless of its polarization. Researchers have long believed symmetric nanostructures, such as circular pillars, are critical components in developing polarization-insensitive photonic devices. Researchers have created polarization-insensitive metalens made of non-symmetric nanofins that [..]