Optical beam scanner with reconfigurable non-mechanical control of beam position, angle, and focus for low-cost whole-eye OCT imaging.

Whole-eye optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging is a promising tool in ocular biometry for cataract surgery planning, glaucoma diagnostics and myopia progression studies. However, conventional OCT systems are set up to perform either anterior or posterior eye segment scans and cannot easily switch between the two scan configurations without adding or exchanging optical components to account for the refraction of the eye's optics. Even in state-of-the-art whole-eye OCT systems, the scan configurations are pre-selected and cannot be dynamically reconfigured. In this work, we present the design, optimization and experimental validation of a reconfigurable and low-cost optical beam scanner based on three electro-tunable lenses, capable of non-mechanically controlling the beam position, angle and focus. We derive the analytical theory behind its control. We demonstrate its use in performing alternate anterior and posterior segment imaging by seamlessly switching between a telecentric focused beam scan to an angular collimated beam scan. We characterize the corresponding beam profiles and record whole-eye OCT images in a model eye and in an ex vivo rabbit eye, observing features comparable to those obtained with conventional anterior and posterior OCT scanners. The proposed beam scanner reduces the complexity and cost of other whole-eye scanners and is well suited for 2-D ocular biometry. Additionally, with the added versatility of seamless scan reconfiguration, its use can be easily expanded to other ophthalmic applications and beyond.

Long-range frequency-domain optical delay line based on a spinning tilted mirror for low-cost ocular biometry.

Optical biometers are routinely used to measure intraocular distances in ophthalmic applications such as cataract surgery planning or myopia monitoring. However, due to their high cost and reduced transportability, access to them for screening and surgical planning is still limited in low-resource and remote settings. To increase patients' access to optical biometry we propose a novel low-cost frequency-domain optical delay line (FD-ODL) based on an inexpensive stepper motor spinning a tilted mirror, for integration into a time-domain (TD)-biometer, amenable to a compact footprint. In the proposed FD-ODL, the axial scan range and the A-scan rate are decoupled from one another, as the former only depends on the spinning mirror tilt angle, while the A-scan rate only depends on the motor shaft rotational speed. We characterized the scanning performance and specifications for two spinning mirror tilt angles, and compared them to those of the standard, more expensive FD-ODL implementation, employing a galvanometric scanner for group delay generation. A prototype of the low-cost FD-ODL with a 1.5 deg tilt angle, resulting in an axial scan range of 6.61 mm and an A-scan rate of 10 Hz was experimentally implemented and integrated in a dual sample beam optical low-coherence reflectometry (OLCR) setup with a detour unit to replicate the measurement window around the anterior segment and the retina. The intraocular distances of a model eye were measured with the proposed low-cost biometer and found to be in good agreement with those acquired by a custom swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system and two commercial biometers, validating our novel design.

Molecular Dynamics and Structure of Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Chains Grafted from Barium Titanate Nanoparticles.

Core-shell nanocomposites comprising barium titanate, BaTiO3 (BTO), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) chains grafted from its surface with varied grafting densities were prepared. BTO nanocrystals are high-k inorganic materials, and the obtained nanocomposites exhibit enhanced dielectric permittivity, as compared to neat PMMA, and a relatively low level of loss tangent in a wide range of frequencies. The impact of the molecular dynamics, structure, and interactions of the BTO surface on the polymer chains was investigated. The nanocomposites were characterized by broadband dielectric and vibrational spectroscopies (IR and Raman), transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The presence of ceramic nanoparticles in core-shell composites slowed down the segmental dynamic of PMMA chains, increased glass transition temperature, and concurrently increased the thermal stability of the organic part. It was also evidenced that, in addition to segmental dynamics, local ß relaxation was affected. The grafting density influenced the self-organization and interactions within the PMMA phase, affecting the organization on a smaller size scale of polymeric chains. This was explained by the interaction of the exposed surface of nanoparticles with polymer chains.

The Effect of Abdominal Massage on Enteral Complications in Geriatric Patients.

INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE: Geriatric patients, who are fed by nasogastric tube (NG), may suffer from complications. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of abdominal massage on Gastric residual volume (GRV), distension, vomiting, and defecation in geriatric patients, who were hospitalized in intensive care unit and fed by NG. METHODS: The quasi-experimental study was conducted in intensive care units. The researcher applied abdominal massage to patients in the intervention group (n = 30) twice a day for 15-20 minutes before feeding. The data of the study were collected by using a questionnaire and a parameter questionnaire. RESULTS: GRV decreased significantly in the intervention group and increased significantly in the control group (p < 0.05). The frequency of defecation significantly increased in intervention group (p < 0.05). It was found that there was no positive effect of abdominal massage on vomiting (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: It was observed that while abdominal massage reduced high GRV and distension incidence, it increased the incidence of defecation.

Fast Bragg Grating Inscription in PMMA Polymer Optical Fibres: Impact of Thermal Pre-Treatment of Preforms.

In this work, fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) were inscribed in two different undoped poly- (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer optical fibres (POFs) using different types of UV lasers and their inscription times, temperature and strain sensitivities are investigated. The POF Bragg gratings (POFBGs) were inscribed using two UV lasers: a continuous UV HeCd @325 nm laser and a pulsed UV KrF @248 nm laser. Two PMMA POFs are used in which the primary and secondary preforms (during the two-step drawing process) have a different thermal treatment. The PMMA POFs drawn in which the primary or secondary preform is not specifically pre-treated need longer inscription time than the fibres drawn where both preforms have been pre-annealed at 80 °C for 2 weeks. Using both UV lasers, for the latter fibre much less inscription time is needed compared to another homemade POF. The properties of a POF fabricated with both preforms thermally well annealed are different from those in which just one preform step process is thermally treated, with the first POFs being much less sensitive to thermal treatment. The influence of annealing on the strain and temperature sensitivities of the fibres prior to FBG inscription is also discussed, where it is observed that the fibre produced from a two-step drawing process with well-defined pre-annealing of both preforms did not produce any significant difference in sensitivity. The results indicate the impact of preform thermal pre-treatment before the PMMA POFs drawing, which can be an essential characteristic in the view of developing POF sensors technology.

Synthese and characterization of boronic acid functionalized macroporous uniform poly(4-chloromethylstyrene-co-divinylbenzene) particles and its use in the isolation of antioxidant compounds from plant extracts.

Aminophenyl boronic acid (APBA) carrying uniform-macroporous poly(chloromethylstyrene-co-divinylbenzene), poly(CMS-co-DVB) particles were synthesized for selective separation of cis-diol-containing flavonoids from plant extracts. For this purpose, 2.5 µm polystyrene seed particles were first swelled by a mixture of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene and dodecanol, then by a monomer mixture including CMS and DVB. The repolymerization of the monomer phase in the swollen seed particles provided macroporous and uniform particles, approximately 7 µm in size. Chlorine atoms on the surface of these particles were derivatized with APBA to gain affinity properties for flavonoids containing vicinal hydroxyl groups. Model adsorption studies showed that these particles selectively adsorbed quercetin and rutin containing cis-diol groups, but did not adsorb apigenin similar to quercetin and not carrying cis-diol groups. These particles were also tested in adsorption/desorption studies for ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of the Hypericum perforatum (HP) stems to obtain high antioxidant mixtures. With ethanol extract, the antioxidant activity of the desorption solution was a bit higher than that of the post-adsorption solutions. However, the DPPH radical scavenging activity of the desorption solution decreased with respect to the original extract and post-adsorption solutions. A similar result was obtained for the antioxidant activity of the desorption solution using ethyl acetate extract. An interesting result was obtained that DPPH radical scavenging activity of the post-adsorption solution was higher than that of the original ethyl acetate extract and desorption solutions. These results were attributed to selective adsorption of antioxidant characterized cis-diol-containing apolar molecules much more rather than that radical scavenger characterized polar molecules.