BioPhotonics This is the syndication feed for BioPhotonics. https://www.photonics.com/ Fri, 29 Mar 2024 08:39:15 GMT Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT 1800 Luminate NY Names Cohort Seven Companies
Empire State Development has named the 10 companies selected to participate in round seven of the Luminate NY accelerator program, investment fund, and competition. Each finalist will receive an initial investment of $100,000 and will have the chance to compete for up to $2 million in follow-on funding upon completion of the program.

The cohort will begin on April 8, 2024, and conclude in September.
To date, Luminate has invested $18 million in 63 startups. The companies in the portfolio have raised an additional $260.1 million and now share a net worth of $675 million. Courtesy of Luminate.
The selected companies:

AI Optics, Inc., developer of a handheld imaging technology that integrates AI to provide a new standard of...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Luminate_NY_Names_Cohort_Seven_Companies/p1/a69851 A69851 Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Whole-Brain Big Data Processing Enables VR via Optogenetic Control
Inspired by the data processing techniques used in astronomy, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a big data processing system for neuronal activity. Known as the FX system, it operates in real-time to analyze large-scale, whole-brain neuron activity and facilitate the closed-loop study of brain functions. In addition to supporting closed-loop neuroscience research, the FX system enables whole-brain, optical interface-mediated virtual...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Whole-Brain_Big_Data_Processing_Enables_VR_via/p1/a69848 A69848 Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
AI and Laser Tech Automate Rapid Sorting and Analysis of Live Cells
To realize the potential of personalized medicine and overcome crisis situations like the recent pandemic, labs need an efficient way to isolate living cells for analysis and testing. The ability to isolate specific cell types without impairing cell vitality is also necessary to advance pharmaceutical research.

In response to this need, the Fraunhofer Institutes of Laser Technology (ILT) and Production Technology (IPT) developed an AI-assisted tool that automatically sorts and isolates living cells from samples using a high-throughput process. The technology, called LIFTOSCOPE, combines high-speed microscopy, AI-based analysis, and localization of living cells and cell clusters with laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT).
The MIR...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/AI_and_Laser_Tech_Automate_Rapid_Sorting_and/p1/a69836 A69836 Mon, 25 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Strong Standards Needed for Metrology and Raman Analysis
Raman analysis faces several obstacles in meeting objective regulatory requirements — such as the lack of traceable quantification methods and absence of certified reference materials — which prevents its widespread use. Raman spectroscopy does not have an underlying metrological infrastructure, such as standardization allowing measurements to be linked to a quantity in the International System of Units (SI).

A recent survey, conducted by the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) Technical Working Area 42 on Raman Spectroscopy and Microscopy, has shown that existing users do not make use of the few Raman standards regularly. The limited availability of calibrated certified reference materials...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Strong_Standards_Needed_for_Metrology_and_Raman/p1/a69754 A69754 Fri, 15 Mar 2024 13:23:00 GMT
3 Questions with Eric Diebold
BioPhotonics spoke with Eric Diebold, worldwide vice president of research and development at BD Biosciences, who leads product and technology development for the biosciences business unit within Becton Dickinson. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and physics from Duke University and his Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University. He spoke to us about the existing challenges in the commercialization of flow cytometry systems and how they are being overcome.
Flow cytometry has become a standard method for cell sorting in many laboratories. But what have been some of the technical limitations that have prevented it from becoming widespread?

Flow cytometry is a powerful and widely used tool for...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/3_Questions_with_Eric_Diebold/p1/a69753 A69753 Fri, 15 Mar 2024 13:16:00 GMT
Raman Spectroscopy Probes the Etiology of Amyloidogenic Disease
There is a need for Raman spectroscopic tools to directly determine heterogeneous mixtures of different fibril polymorphs in the same tissue or even plaques. The urgent need for rationally designed treatments of Alzheimer’s disease and other amyloidogenic disorders is more relevant than ever; there is a predicted 7% increase of cases of Alzheimer’s by 2025 in people aged 65 and older, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Several lines of evidence suggest that amyloid-β (Aβ) fibril structure is intimately linked to the pathophysiological features, progression, and clinical subtypes observed in Alzheimer’s disease and its related dementias. Significant progress has been made in understanding the origins...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Raman_Spectroscopy_Probes_the_Etiology_of/p1/a69584 A69584 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:20:00 GMT
Making the Photon Count in Confocal Microscopy
When used appropriately, a laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscope is a valuable tool for researchers to make quantitative measurements in cells and tissue across various life sciences applications. The laser scanning confocal microscope’s ability to block out-of-focus light and thereby perform optical sectioning through a specimen allows the researchers to quantify fluorescence with very high spatial precision. However, generating meaningful data using confocal microscopy requires careful planning and a thorough understanding of not only this imaging technique but also the hardware capabilities of the imaging system itself.


A mouse cerebellum captured on the FLUOVIEW FV4000 laser scanning confocal microscope...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Making_the_Photon_Count_in_Confocal_Microscopy/p1/a69583 A69583 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:00:00 GMT
Bringing Laser Speckle Imaging to the Point of Care
Speckle contrast measurements are greatly affected by the
movement of the imaging system because it increases the blurring in images. While laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) has historically been confined to a bulky benchtop configuration, multiple research teams have recently developed hand-held and wearable laser speckle systems. For these systems to be useful in a clinical setting, hand-held devices must be lightweight and compact enough to easily lift and move around while wearable users must be able to function normally. This requires careful selection and characterization of camera and laser components; for untethered systems, this requires small and inexpensive computation and battery modules, and intentional hardware...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Bringing_Laser_Speckle_Imaging_to_the_Point_of/p1/a69582 A69582 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:52:00 GMT
Single Fiber Endoscopy Records Neural and Vascular Detail
The growing incidence of chronic diseases around the world has driven the expansion of techniques to provide diagnosis at the source, which would ideally involve a minimally invasive — but detail-rich — application of technology. Clinicians are increasingly turning to the endoscope as a solution, and many modern instruments are based on fiber running through their core.

According to Grandview Research, an estimated 225.3 million endoscopic procedures were carried out worldwide in 2022. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 17.7 million endoscopic procedures were performed annually in the U.S.2


This illustration shows an endoscope, based on meta-optics, that allows for decreased tip length without a reduction...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Single_Fiber_Endoscopy_Records_Neural_and/p1/a69581 A69581 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:44:00 GMT
Researchers tattoo nanotech to live cells
For some, tattoos are an expression of freedom: a piece of body art that will either prove to be a cool investment or a terrible regret once one realizes that the writing permanently etched into their skin reads “born to be mild” instead of “born to be wild.” But while tattoos are intended to enhance the wearer’s image in some way, in the research laboratory, scientists have been exploring how they could subdermally enhance the identification of samples.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering have been exploring ways to evolve the street art into an actionable labeling protocol in their research of a variety of biosamples. They developed a proof-of-concept of a technique that...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Researchers_tattoo_nanotech_to_live_cells/p1/a69815 A69815 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 11:50:56 GMT
Fiber plots a focused diagnostic path
When ancestors of modern endoscopy first peered into cavities of the human body, they used candlelight or burned a mixture of alcohol and turpentine, which illuminated a thin tube equipped with a lens. In the 19th century, the French inventor Antonin Jean Desormeaux, who is regarded as the father of endoscopy, used such a device to guide chemical cauterization, a simple and painful procedure in which a chemical agent is applied to infected tissue. Early instruments were rigid, which meant that they could damage the cavities and vessels that researchers were intending to explore.

At the turn of the 20th century, endoscopes became increasingly flexible and were primarily used for examination of the gastrointestinal tract. But the world...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Fiber_plots_a_focused_diagnostic_path/p1/a69814 A69814 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 11:42:10 GMT
Light-Beads Microscopy Reveals New Information About Brain Activity
Mammalian brains are known to be comprised of densely interconnected neurons, but a remaining mystery in neuroscience is how tools which capture relatively few components of brain activity have enabled scientists to predict behavior in mice.

To better capture and understand neural activity in mice, professor Alipasha Vaziri and his team at The Rockefeller University used large-scale recordings and light-beads microscopy (LBM), a volumetric, two-photon imaging technique developed by the Vaziri lab in 2021. LBM increases imaging speed by eliminating the “dead-time” between sequential laser pulses, when no neuroactivity is recorded, and by removing the need for scanning.

LBM breaks one laser pulse into 30 sub-pulses...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Light-Beads_Microscopy_Reveals_New_Information/p1/a69813 A69813 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Memory Element Enhances a Human Sight-Mimicking Quantum System
Collaborating researchers from Hong Kong, China, and Germany have developed a quantum-sensing technology that encodes changes in fluorescence intensity into spikes that occur during optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) measurements. The image capture technology uses a neuromorphic vision sensor designed to mimic the human vision system.

According to the researchers, the sensing mechanism is more efficient than traditional methods, which, they said, are commonly limited in terms of frame rate and dynamic range, among other aspects. The proposed system delivers highly compressed data volumes and reduced latency by enabling enhanced sensitivity and temporal resolution — all using an off-the-shelf event camera.

An...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Memory_Element_Enhances_a_Human_Sight-Mimicking/p1/a69799 A69799 Mon, 11 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Photoacoustic Device Probes Tissue with Low-Cost Laser Diodes
Photoacoustic (PA) technologies offer a noninvasive approach to probing biological tissues, but have seen limited use in clinical applications, partially due to bulky, expensive laser sources. A compact PA sensing instrument for biomedical tissue diagnosis, powered by laser diodes, could provide clinicians with a practical, effective tool for evaluating breast disease.

By providing a cost-effective path to tissue diagnosis, the compact PA sensing instrument could bridge the gap between PA research and its practical application. The instrument is the work of a research team from the Indian Institute of Technology Indore.

The researchers integrated multiple laser diodes for PA excitation within a compact casing and developed a...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Photoacoustic_Device_Probes_Tissue_with_Low-Cost/p1/a69779 A69779 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
DMD-Based SIM Attains Fast Superresolution Bioimaging in 3D
Although structured illumination microscopy (SIM) demonstrates ultrahigh temporal and spatial resolution, the speed and intricacy of polarization modulation affect the speed and quality of its imaging resolution in 3D.

A 3DSIM technique, developed by a team led by professor Peng Xi at Peking University, leverages digital display technology to achieve a rapid, reliable, multidimensional SIM imaging tool for investigating diverse biological phenomena. The new microscopy technique blends 3D superresolution and fast temporal resolution with polarization imaging. To do so, it combines the polarization-maintaining and modulation capabilities of a digital micromirror device (DMD) with an electro-optic modulator (EOM).

A DMD uses the...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/DMD-Based_SIM_Attains_Fast_Superresolution/p1/a69775 A69775 Mon, 04 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Terahertz Biosensor Allows Early Skin Cancer Detection
Researchers have developed a biosensor using metasurfaces to detect terahertz radiation, a development that enables early detection of skin sensor. The work is the result of a collaboration between Queen Mary University of London and the University of Glasgow.

According to postdoctoral researcher at Queen Mary University Shohreh Nourinovin, traditional methods of detecting skin cancers are often expensive, time-consuming, and involve CT and PET scans and invasive higher frequency technology. “Our biosensor offers a noninvasive and highly efficient solution, leveraging the unique properties of terahertz waves — a type of radiation with lower energy than x-rays, thus safe for humans — to detect subtle changes in cell...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Terahertz_Biosensor_Allows_Early_Skin_Cancer/p1/a69770 A69770 Thu, 29 Feb 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Aktiia, Optical Health Monitoring Firm, Gains $30M in Funding
Photoplethysmography is a noninvasive optical measurement technique that uses a light source and a photodetector at the surface of the skin to measure volumetric variations of blood circulation. Since Aktiia's device debuted in the U.K. in 2021, the company has acquired more...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Aktiia_Optical_Health_Monitoring_Firm_Gains/p1/a69769 A69769 Thu, 29 Feb 2024 07:00:00 GMT
SPAD Elevates Spatiotemporal Resolution in Conventional Microscopes
Image scanning microscopy (ISM), a superresolution technique enabled by the advent of fast and compact detector arrays, provides signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), optical sectioning, and spatial resolution better than that of a traditional confocal microscope. The lateral resolution of the ISM image can surpass Abbe’s limit by up to a factor of two.

However, these advantages are achieved by exploiting only spatial information; modern fluorescence bioimaging can be further enriched by time-resolved acquisition, which enables access to structural and functional information encoded into the fluorescence dynamics (e.g., fluorescence lifetime).

Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa developed a compact...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/SPAD_Elevates_Spatiotemporal_Resolution_in/p1/a69758 A69758 Fri, 23 Feb 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Coherent CEO Mattera to Retire
Coherent Corp. CEO Vincent "Chuck" Mattera has informed the company’s board of directors that he will retire as CEO, following the hiring of a successor. The board has retained a leading executive search firm to commence a comprehensive search process, which will include evaluating internal and external candidates, to identify a new CEO. A subcommittee has been formed to oversee the search process.
Vincent Mattera will retire as CEO of Coherent following the completion of the company's search for a replacement. Courtesy of Coherent. Mattera’s intention to retire, the company said, does not reflect a dispute or disagreement. In August 2022, Coherent extended Mattera's contract through 2030.

Mattera has been with Coherent...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Coherent_CEO_Mattera_to_Retire/p1/a69750 A69750 Wed, 21 Feb 2024 10:19:15 GMT
$20M Grant Funds Portable Eye Scanning Tech
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has awarded $20 million to Chao Zhou, a professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, to support the development of a portable OCT system. The solution could offer advanced eye screenings to many more patients at lower costs. Additionally, the technology could be used in additional applications, including cardiology, dermatology, dentistry, endoscopy, and urology.

Zhou plans to build the portable system using a design based on PICs and custom-designed electronic integrated circuits (ICs). This, he said, will simplify the assembly process and lower production costs, making OCT more accessible to a wider range of...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/20M_Grant_Funds_Portable_Eye_Scanning_Tech/p1/a69737 A69737 Mon, 19 Feb 2024 07:00:00 GMT