(Press-News.org) A quadruple fusion optical and ultrasound imaging system has been developed that allows diagnosis of eye conditions or tumors or to see the environment inside the body using a transparent ultrasound transducer.
Professor Chulhong Kim of POSTECH's Department of Electrical Engineering, Convergence IT Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Byullee Park of Department of Convergence IT Engineering, Ph.D. candidate Jeongwoo Park of School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, Professor Hyung Ham Kim of Department of Convergence IT Engineering, and Professor Unyong Jeong of Department of Materials Science and Engineering, in joint research with Professor Hong Kyun Kim of Kyungpook National University School of Medicine have together developed a transparent ultrasound transducer1 and has used it to produce the world's first quadruple fusion imaging system that integrates ultrasound imaging, photoacoustic imaging, optical coherence tomography, and fluorescence imaging. These research findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) on March 8, 2021.
There is a growing interest in multimodal imaging systems that obtain various images and information by combining ultrasound and optical imaging devices. Among them, an ultrasound transducer is a device that produces images by generating ultrasound and functions as an image sensor in ultrasonic examinations. But it was not optically transparent and difficult to let lasers pass through effectively, and therefore had limitations to be coaxially combined with an optical imaging device.
To solve this issue, the research team developed a highly sensitive transparent ultrasound transducer which the laser can effectively pass through. This newly developed device obtains quadruple fusion images of ultrasound, photoacoustic, optical coherence, and fluorescence in one imaging system for the first time.
Using the quadruple fusion imaging system combined with a transparent ultrasound transducer integrated into an ophthalmic imaging system, the researchers were able to observe the corneal neovascularization, structural changes, cataracts, inflammation, and other epidemiological changes in the rat eye.
In addition, when used as a tumor imaging device, the researchers were able to multiparametrically visualize the oxygen saturation of surrounding blood vessels and tissues in a melanoma-afflicted mouse without using a contrast agent. With molecular imaging, breast cancer diagnosis is now possible as demonstrated by acquiring and observing various images of a mouse with breast cancer through injecting a contrast agent that is harmless to the human body.
These research findings are anticipated to be widely applicable to various industries where ultrasound and optical sensors are used, such as healthcare and medical fields, mobile, automobiles, robotics, non-destructive testing, as well as ophthalmological diseases and tumor imaging diagnosis.
INFORMATION:
This research was conducted with the support from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea grant funded by the Korean government, the Basic Science Research Program of the NRF of Korea, funded by the Ministry of Education, the National R&D Program of the NRF of Korea, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, POSCO Project, and BK21 FOUR Projects.
The research, by an international team from the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Technical University of Denmark, used 3D printing to create scaffolds for engineered flat brain organoids. The scaffolds allowed the brain organoid size to be significantly increased and after 20 days, self-generated folding was observed. END ...
Military expenditures are highly counterproductive to green economic growth- documented by a recent study conducted by UrFU economist collaboration with an international research team. Sustainable economic development or green growth requires cleaner energy and green technology that can mitigate the negative externalities (e.g., carbon emission) of economic growth. The study utilized various macroeconomic indicators for 21 OECD countries over the year 1980-2016. This empirical study focusing on the dynamic impact of innovation, militarization and renewable energy on the green economy is published in the journal "Environmental Science and Pollution Research".
On the one hand, the military-industry (land vehicles, aircraft, and sea-vessels) consume a gargantuan ...
Ketone bodies are generally an alternative energy source during starvation, but in newborns, ketogenesis is active regardless of nutritional status. In a recent study from END ...
Osaka, Japan - Synthesizing pharmaceuticals for cancer, viral diseases, and other medical conditions is slow work. A particularly challenging chemical transformation is to start with what's known as an unactivated alkene--a common molecular building block--and end up with a vicinal diamine; i.e., installation of two nitrogen units into carbon--carbon double bonds. The result is a chemical unit that's present in medications for influenza and colorectal cancer.
Commonly, researchers must use rare, toxic metals and harsh reaction conditions to complete this transformation. Using a more sustainable catalyst for the reaction could solve such problems. Previous research has attempted to do so, ...
Label-free optical sensors based on optical whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microresonators exhibit extraordinary sensitivity for detecting physical, chemical, and biological entities, even down to single molecules. This extreme advancement in label-free optical detection is made possible by application of the optical microresonator, i.e. a 100 um glass microspheres, as optical cavity to enhance the detection signal. Akin to a spherical micromirror, the WGM cavity reflects the light by near-total internal reflection and thereby creates multiple cavity passes ...
Note: The dwarf galaxy corresponding to the Gaia-Sausage structure of the Milky Way was named Enceladus by astronomers, after one of the hundred-handed giants in Greek mythology who opposed the rule of Zeus.
Looking up at the starry sky, the deep Universe appears quiet and mysterious. It is hard to imagine that the ancient dwarf galaxy Enceladus violently collided and was torn apart by our own Milky Way Galaxy, leaving behind the cries of a whole new generation of children from the hundred-handed giant. Recently, SCIENCE CHINA: Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy published an (Editor's Focus) article titled "Low-α Metal-rich stars with sausage kinematics in the LAMOST survey: Are they ...
WASHINGTON--Low doses of propylparaben--an estrogen-like chemical used as a preservative in personal care products and foods--can alter pregnancy-related changes in the breast in ways that may reduce the normal protection against breast cancer that pregnancy hormones convey, according to a new study being published in the Endocrine Society's journal Endocrinology.
These results, from an animal study that also will be presented at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, lend evidence that propylparaben is an endocrine-disrupting chemical, the researchers say.
An endocrine-disrupting chemical interferes with the actions of hormones in the body. These chemicals can affect ...
Durham, NC - Nuclear power offers an efficient, reliable way to provide energy to large populations - as long as all goes well. Accidents involving nuclear reactors such as those that took place in 1986 at Chernobyl and at Fukushima Daiichi after the March 2011 tsunami raise major concerns about what happens if the worst occurs and large numbers of people are simultaneously exposed to high levels of radiation. Currently, there are no effective, safe therapies for total body irradiation (TBI) - a condition known as acute radiation syndrome (ARS). That could change, ...
16th of March, Tuesday, 2021 -- Longevity medicine is a rapidly evolving branch of preventative precision medicine that is specifically focused on promoting healthspan and lifespan, utilizing aging biomarkers commonly referred to as aging clocks. Over the past decade advances in AI and machine learning enabled the development of deep aging clocks (DACs) and other novel tools to track the rate of aging. In parallel novel preventative and therapeutic interventions have been discovered or progressed into clinical trials. Many medical and public health professionals do not have time to read the thousands of research papers covering this new field and actively engage in cutting-edge innovation ...
Global drylands are experiencing faster-than-average warming and are also among the most vulnerable regions to climate change. Meteorological metrics all point to an emerging trend of increased surface aridity, raising concerns of land desertification and degradation. However, recent satellite observations also show lusher drylands, in apparent contradiction to the image of drylands becoming drier. In a new Review Article published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, an international team comprehensively examined global dryland aridity changes with evidence from the literature and various sources of Earth observations and numerical ...
