biophotonics 201309

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SEPTEMBER 2013

www.Photonics.com

Is This the Futureof Diagnostics?
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4 BioPhotonics September 2013

PHOTONICS

The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whosequantum unit is the photon. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation

to detection to communications and information processing.

BIOPHOTONICS

The application of photonic products and techniques to solve problems for researchers,product developers, clinical users, physicians and others in the fields of medicine,

biology and biotechnology.

10 BIOSCAN BioPhotonicseditors curate the most significant headlines of the

month for photonics in the life sciences and take you deeper

inside the news. Featured stories include:

QD method combines best of optical, electron microscopy

Breakthrough enables photosensitive-drug development

SERS, nanoprobes seek to detect infections early

16RAPIDSCAN 3 Questions with Dr. Adam Wax of Oncoscope Inc.

and Duke University

www.photonics.com

Volume 20 Issue 6

23SMARTPHONES SET TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE MEDICAL WORLD by Gary Boas, News Editor

The many issues relevant to launching portable diagnostic devicesinclude government regulations and developing-world cultures.

26STED MICROSCOPY: A NEW CHAPTER IN LIGHT IMAGING by Marie Freebody, Contributing Editor

This two-decades-old nanoscale technique has broken scientic barriers

and deepened our understanding of biomolecules.

30CW LASERS BOOST RESOLUTION FOR MICROSCOPY by Matthias Schulze and Volker Pfeufer, Coherent Inc.

Optically pumped semiconductor laser technology enables

optical nanoscopy and multiwavelength excitation.

34BRIGHT LIGHTS IN THE BIO(PHOTONICS)SPHERE by Laura S. Marshall, Managing Editor

A constellation of photonics superstars includes teens who are developing

cancer-ghting tools, and another who is introducing students to STEM.

8EDITORIAL

37BREAKTHROUGHPRODUCTS

40APPOINTMENTS Upcoming Courses and Shows

41ADVERTISER INDEX

42POST SCRIPTS by Caren B. Les

Skin scan can quantify stress levels

NEWS

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

26

THE COVER

Will smartphones become

the universal diagnostic

tool? Design by Art Director

Suzanne L. Schmidt.

Now available as a

FREEmobile app

for subscribers

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Call for EntriesPrismAwards.org

Apply today. Applications are due 20 September 2013
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Group Publisher Karen A. Newman

Editorial Staff

Managing Editor Laura S. MarshallSenior Editor Melinda A. RoseNews Editors Gary Boas, Caren B. Les, Ashley N. Rice

Contributing Editors Hank Hogan, Marie Freebody

Copy Editors Judith E. Storie, Margaret W. Bushee, Christopher Goodell

Creative Staff

Senior Art Director Lisa N. ComstockBioPhotonics Art Director Suzanne L. Schmidt

Designer Janice R. TynanDirector Charley Rose

Multimedia Services & Marketing

Director of Publishing Operations Kathleen A. Alibozek

Electronic Media Staff

Web Development Team Leader Brian L. LeMireWeb Developers Alan W. Shepherd

Brian A. Bilodeau

Corporate Staff

Chairman/Founder Teddi C. LaurinPresident Thomas F. Laurin

Vice President Kristina A. LaurinVice President Ryan F. Laurin

Controller Mollie M. ArmstrongAccounting Manager Lynne Lemanski

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Business Staff

Director of Sales Ken TyburskiAssociate Director Rebecca L. Pontier

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Subscriptions Janice L. ButlerTraffic Manager Daniel P. Weslowski

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Subscription Policy BioPhotonics ISSN-1081-8693 (USPS 013913) is published 9 times per year byLaurin Publishing Co. Inc., 100 West Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201. TITLE reg. in US Library of Congress.The issues will be as follows: January, February/March, April, May/June, July/August, Septem-ber, October, November and December. Copyright 2013 by Laurin Publishing Co. Inc. All rights re-served. POSTMASTER: Periodicals postage paid at Pittsfield, MA, and at additional mailing offices.Postmaster: Send form 3579 to BioPhotonics, 100 West Street, PO Box 4949, Pittsfield, MA 01202-4949, +1(413) 499-0514. CIRCULATION POLICY: BioPhotonics is distributed without charge to qualified research-ers, engineers, practitioners, technicians and management personnel working with the fields of medi-cine or biotechnology. Eligibility requests must be returned with your business card or organizationsletterhead. Rates for others as follows: $45 domestic and $56.25 outside US per year prepaid. Overseaspostage: $30 airmail per year. Publisher reserves the right to refuse nonqualified subscriptions. ARTI-CLES FOR PUBLICATION: Individuals wishing to submit an article for possible publication in BioPhoton-ics should contact Laurin Publishing Co. Inc., 100 West Street, PO Box 4949, Pittsfield, MA 01202-4949;phone: +1 (413) 499-0514; fax: +1 (413) 442-3180; email: [email protected] statementsand opinions expressed in BioPhotonics are those of the contributors the publisher assumes no

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Is It Your Time to Shine?

T

he Prism Awards the annual international competition recognizing cutt ing-edge

products that break conventional ideas, solve problems and improve life through

photonics is accepting entries for the 2014 competition. But hurry; time is runningout. Visitwww.photonicsprismaward.com for details and the entry form.

Because their products are the best and brightest, Prism Awards nalists get plenty

of media attention. Managing Editor Laura Marshall and Senior Editor Melinda Rose

previewed last years nalists in our January issue. Among the three nalists in the Life

Sciences and Biophotonics category was Femtolasers Produktions GmbH of Vienna,

which was recognized for its Integral core ultrafast, portable Ti:sapphire turnkey laser.

Weighing less than 4 kg, it combines a femtosecond light source with


9/44

Welcome to

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BioPhotonicsmagazine print and digital subscribers can access full issuesand news feeds by logging in with an email address or subscriber number.Nonsubscribers can access a preview of each issue as well as real-timenews feeds from Photonics.com.

Not a current BioPhotonicssubscriber? Visitwww.photonics.com/subscribeto start or renew your subscription. Once your subscriptionis activated, you will have access to all the app features. (Allow 24 hoursfor activation of your account.)

You can:Download each issue of BioPhotonicsas it is publishedSearch archived magazine issuesAccess real-time news and product updates from our websiteShare articles via email or social media

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9BioPhotonics September 2013

CONTRIBUTORS

News editor Gary Boashas

extensive experience as

a writer and editor in the

research community; he isalso a contributing editor to

Photonics Spectra. Page23.

Matthias Schulze is direc-

tor of marketing in the life

sciences at Coherent Inc. of

Santa Clara, Calif. Page30.

Contributing editor Marie

Freebodyis a freelance jour-

nalist with a masters degree

in physics from the University

of Surrey, England. Page26.

Volker Pfeufer is a senior

product line manager at

Coherent Inc. of Santa C lara,

Calif. Page30.

Welcome to

The online companion to BioPhotonicsmagazine


scan this QR code, or visit


Log in with your email addressor your magazine subscriber

number:

Photonics SpectraandEuroPhotonicsapps

are also available!

Photonics Your WayNow available

as a FREEmobile app!

Managing Editor Laura S.

Marshall combines years in

journalism with a lifelong love

of science to cover the vast

world of photonics; in addition

to her magazine duties, she

co-hosts the Light Matters

Weekly Newscast on

Photonics.com. Page34.
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QD method combines best of optical, electron microscopyGAITHERSBURG, Md. A fast, versa-

tile and high-resolution technique that

combines the best of optical and scanning

electron microscopy could provide sur-

face and subsurface viewing of features as

small as 10 nm in size. This will be useful

for a wide range of applications including

materials characterization and the life

sciences, its creators say.

Researchers at NIST have developed

the microscopy method using cathodolu-

minescence to image nanoscale features.

In an old tube television, a beam of elec-trons moves over a phosphor screen to

create images; the new technique works in

much the same way by scanning a beam

of electrons over a sample that has been

coated with specially engineered quantum

dots (QDs).

The QDs emit low-energy visible light

very close to the surface of the sample,

exploiting near-eld effects of light. After

interacting with the sample, the scattered

photons are collected using a closely

placed photodetector, allowing an image

to be constructed.The rst demonstration of the tech-

nique was used to image the natural

nanostructure of the photodetector itself.

Because both the light source and detector

are so close to the sample, the diffraction

limit doesnt apply, and much smaller

objects can be imaged.

Initially, our research was dr iven

by our desire to study how inhomogene-

ities in the structure of polycrystalline

photovoltaics could affect the conversion

of sunlight to electricity and how these

devices can be improved, said Heayoung

Yoon of the Energy Research Group at

NIST. But we quickly realized that this

technique could also be adapted to other

research regimes, most notably imaging

for biological and cellular samples, wet

samples, samples with rough surfaces,

as well as organic photovoltaics.

The technique tackles two problems

in nanoscale microscopy: the diffraction

limit, which restricts conventional opti-

cal microscopes to resolutions no better

than about half the wavelength of the

light (about 250 nm for green light), and

the relatively high energies and sample

preparation requirements of electron mi-

croscopy, which are destructive to fragile

specimens like tissue.

NIST researcher Nikolai Zhitenev, a

co-developer of the technique, had the

idea a few years ago to use a phosphor

coating to produce light for near-eld

optical imaging, but at the time, no

phosphor available was thin enough.

Thick phosphors cause the light to

diverge, severely limiting the image

resolution.

This changed when the NIST inves-

tigators teamed with scientists from a

company that engineers QDs for lighting

applications. The QDs potentially could

do the same job as a phosphor and be ap-

plied in a coating both homogenous and

thick enough to absorb the entire electron

beam while also thin enough that the light

produced does not have to travel far to the

sample.

The collaborators discovered that the

QDs unique core-shell design efciently

produced low-energy photons in the

visible spectrum when energized with a

beam of electrons. The group then devel-

oped a deposition process to bind them

to specimens as a lm with a controlled

thickness of approximately 50 nm.

The investigators now would like to

develop the method fur ther, working with

end users, Zhitenev said.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, QD

Vision, Sandia National Laboratories and

the Maryland NanoCenter at the Univer-

sity of Maryland also contributed to the

research, which appeared online inAIP

Advances(doi: 10.1063/1.4811275).

Ashley N. Rice

[email protected]

BIOSCAN

A closer look at the most significant biophotonics research and technology headlines of the month

A new microscopy technique developed at NIST works by scanning a beam of electrons over a sample

that has been coated with specially engineered quantum dots. The dots absorb the energy and emit it

as visible light that interacts with the sample at close range; the scattered photons are collected using a

similarly closely placed photodetector (not depicted). Courtesy of Dill/NIST.
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Researchers at IRB Barcelona and IBEC design the first peptides regulated by light to modulate biologicalprocesses. Courtesy of Laura Nevola.


BARCELONA, Spain A chemical nano-

engineering breakthrough favoring the

development of light-regulated therapeu-

tic molecules could lead to personalized

medicine that limits treatment time and

reduces unwanted results.

Modifying biological processes with

light has led to new elds of research, such

as optogenetics and optopharmacology, and

to the development of numerous tools for

biology and medicine. Combining drugs

with external devices to control light could

enable the development of photosensitivedrugs, but researchers must enhance the

photochemical response of the compounds

and be able to stimulate them at visible

wavelengths for this to work.

Prolonged illumination with ultra-

violet light is toxic for cells and is there-

fore a clear limitation as well as having

little tissue penetration capacity, said Dr.

Ernest Giralt of the Institute for Research

in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona).

Additionally, the photoconversion of

the compounds needs to be improved, as

does their stability in the dark, to be ableto on demand, design them in such a way

that they relax rapidly when irradiation

with light stops, or that they remember

for hours or days the light st imulation

received, added Pau Gorostiza, ICREA

professor and head of the Nanoprobes

and Nanoswitches Lab at the Institute

for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC).

Giralt, Gorostiza and colleagues syn-

thesized two peptides that, upon irradia-

tion with light, change shape, allowing

or preventing a specic protein-protein

interaction. The association of these two

proteins is required for endocytosis, a

process in which cells allow molecules

to penetrate the cell membrane. Postdoc

Laura Nevola and doctoral student Andrs

Martn-Quirs have spent the past four

years working on the design of these

photosensitive peptides.

Photosensitive peptides act like trafclights and can be made to give a green or

red light for cell endocytosis, Giralt said.

They are powerful tools for cell biology.

These molecules allow us to use focal-

ized light like a magic wand to control

biological processes and to study them,

Gorostiza said.

The molecules could be used for in vi-

tro endocytosis in cancer cells, where this

process is uncontrolled, allowing selec-

tive inhibition of the proliferation of these

cells. They also could enable the study

of developmental biology where cells

require endocytosis to change shape and

function, processes that are orchestrated

with great spatial and temporal precision.

The investigators believe that the most

immediate therapeutic applications will

be for diseases affecting supercial tissue

such as the skin, the ret ina and the most

external mucosal membranes.They are now working to develop a

general recipe for photoswitchable inhibi-

tory peptides that can be used to manipu-

late other protein-protein interactions

inside cells by applying light.

The work appeared inAngewandte

Chemie(doi: 10.1002/anie.201303324).

ANR

Breakthrough enables photosensitive-drug development

SERS, nanoprobes seek to detect infections earlyDURHAM, N.C. Nanoprobes can be

used with surface-enhanced Raman spec-

troscopy (SERS) to reveal a specic mo-

lecular markers optical ngerprint and to

detect infections before patients even show

symptoms, according to a recent study.

Biomedical engineers and genome

researchers at Duke University developed

the approach and have demonstrated it in

human samples; they are now developing

the technique for placement on a chip to

provide simple patient information quickly.

We have demonstrated for the rst

time that the use of these nanoprobes

can detect specic genetic materials

taken from human samples, said Tuan

Vo-Dinh, the R. Eugene and Susie E.

Goodson Distinguished Professor of

Biomedical Engineering in Dukes Pratt

School of Engineering and director of

the universitys Fitzpatrick Institute for

Photonics. His team collaborated with

scientists at the universitys Institute for

Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP), who

Tuan Vo-Dinh. Courtesy of Duke University.
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have developed a method of measuringthe hosts response to infection throughRNA proling.

The silver-based nanoparticle theydeveloped targets a specic molecular

marker that spills into the bloodstream

at the rst stages of an infection. Whenlight is aimed at the sample, the nanopar-ticle attached to a molecular marker willreect a distinct optical ngerprint.

When the target molecule is coupled

with a metal nanopart icle or nanostruc-ture, the Raman response is greatlyenhanced by the SERS effect often bymore than a million times, said Vo-Dinh,who has been studying the potentialapplications of SERS for decades.

This important proof-of-concept studynow paves the way for the developmentof devices that measure multiple genome-derived markers that will assist with moreaccurate and rapid diagnosis of infectious

disease at the point of care, saidGeoffrey Ginsburg, director of genomicmedicine at the IGSP. This would guide

care decisions that will lead to more ef-fective treatment and improved outcomesof antimicrobial therapy.

The research appears online inAnalytica Chimica Acta(doi: 10.1016/j.

aca.2013.05.017).

ANR

BIOSCANb

Five views of the new switchable telescopic contact lens. (a) From front. (b) From back. (c) On the

mechanical model eye. (d) With liquid crystal glasses. Here, the glasses block the unmagnified

central portion of the lens. (e) With liquid crystal glasses. Here, the central portion is not blocked.

Images courtesy of Optics Express.

Images captured through the contact lens and mechanical model eye: (a) Outdoor image taken with

model eye alone. (b) This outdoor image, taken with model eye and contact lens, shows why each of the

two magnification states (normal and 2.8) should be used one at a time: Here, neither section of the

lens is being blocked by the glasses, and the result is an image with greatly reduced contrast. (c) Outdoor

image taken with just the magnified outer portion of the contact lens (2.8). OE = optoelectronic.

Telescopic contact lens helps AMD patients seeSAN DIEGO, and LAUSANNE, Switzer-land A slim, telescopic contact lens thatswitches between normal and magnied

vision in combination with liquid crystal

eyeglasses could provide a relativelyunobtrusive way to enhance the sight ofpatients with age-related macular degen-eration (AMD).

Visual aids that magnify incominglight help AMD patients see by spreadinglight around to undamaged parts of theretina, but these optical aids use either

bulky spectacle-mounted telescopesthat interfere with social interactions, ormicrotelescopes that must be surgicallyimplanted directly into the eye.

For a visual aid to be accepted, itneeds to be highly convenient and un-obtrusive, said Eric Tremblay of colePolytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne inSwitzerland, who worked with an interna-tional team of researchers led by Univer-sity of California, San Diego, professorJoseph Ford to develop the device. A

contact lens is an attractive compromisebetween head-mounted telescopes and im-planted microtelescopes, Tremblay said.

The system developed by Fords team

uses tightly tting mirror surfaces tomake a telescope that has been integratedinto a nearly 1-mm-thick contact lenswith a dual modality: The center providesunmagnied vision, while the ring-shaped

telescope at the periphery of the regularcontact lens magnies the view 2.8 times.

To switch between the magnied view

and normal vision, users wear a modied

pair of liquid crystal glasses originallymade for viewing 3-D TVs. These glasses

selectively block either the magnifyingportion of the contact lens or its unmagni-ed center by electrically changing the

orientation of polarized light to allowlight with one orientation or the otherto pass through the glasses to the lens.

The design was tested both withcomputer modeling and lens fabrication.

A life-sized model eye was created tocapture images through the system.

To construct the lens, the researchersused a robust material common in earlycontact lenses called polymethyl meth-acrylate (PMAA), into which they placed

tiny grooves to correct for aberrant colorcaused by the shape of the lens, whichconforms to the human eye.

Tests showed that the magnied im-age quality through the lens was clearand provided a much larger eld of view

than other magnication approaches,

but renements are necessary before the

proof-of-concept system could be readyfor commercial use.

The grooves degraded image qualityand contrast, and made the lens unwear-able unless it is surrounded by a smooth,soft skirt, something commonly usedwith rig id contact lenses today. PMAA

currently is not ideal for contact lenses
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because it is gas-impermeable, limiting

wear to short periods of time. The team

is pursuing a similar design that will still

be switchable but that will use gas-per-

meable materials and correct for aberrant

color without grooves.

In the future, it will hopefully bepossible to go after the core of the prob-

lem with effective treatments or retinal

prosthetics, Tremblay said. The ideal is

really for magniers to become unneces-

sary. Until we get there, however, contact

lenses may provide a way to make AMD a

little less debilitating.

The research was published in Optics

Express(doi: 10.1364/OE.21.015980).

Gold nanoprobes +

FRET = cancer insightsGLASGOW, Scotland Gold nanoprobes

paired with FRET microscopy could yield

a new generation of biological imaging

and sensing techniques researchers

could study cancer cells in more minute

detail and measure the effectiveness of

medicines at subcellular levels.

Gold nanoparticles have a number

of advantages over the organic dye mol-

ecules currently used to study cells with

uorescence microscopy. They are less

toxic to cells, more sensitive, probe over alonger distance, and are more photostable

meaning they are unchanged by light

exposure.

University of Strathclyde scientists

took these advantages into account when

developing a multidisciplinary approach

using gold nanoprobes paired with FRET

microscopy to image message ribonucleic

acids (mRNA) a kind of nucleic acid

present in all living cells that carries

genetic codes from DNA to make protein.

By examining key mRNAs at a cellular

level, the scientists could detect diseases

such as cancer at an early stage and deter-

mine the effect iveness of treatments.

The nanoprobes are based on a type

of molecular handshake called Frster

resonance energy transfer, or FRET, in

which gold nanoparticles are linked with a

uorescent protein via a hairpin-structured

single-stranded DNA, said Dr. Yu Chen

of the universitys department of physics.

Upon interacting with the target mRNA

in the cell, the hairpin structure dissolves,

and a uorescent signal occurs enabling

the tracking and quantication of the

disease-related mRNA at a cellular level,

even down to the level of single molecules.

The technology could allow the simul-

taneous detection of multiple types of

RNA related to cancer, which would then

raise the possibility of scientists eventually

being able to screen patients in order to

predict their risk of developing disease,Chen said. By allowing us to see what is

happening inside cells, we also hope this

research wil l lead to the development of

techniques to study the efcacy of drugs.

The probes could also deliver cancer

drugs and other molecules directly to

diseased tissues, bypassing healthy cells.

The researchers also believe the technique

could improve food and water safety.

This new approach to imaging RNAat a single-cell level may also a llow

scientists to develop new methods to

identify various microbes which may

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BIOSCAN b
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have contaminated food and water, said

Dr. Jun Yu of the Strathclyde Institute

of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences.

Food safety is a global challenge, and

using novel nanoprobes to detect food

contamination by various microbes will

open up a new way of addressing this

crucial issue.

The Biotechnology and Biological

Sciences Research Council invested

119,000 in the project.

BIOSCANb

Laser-guided codes advance THz imagingCHESTNUT HILL, Mass. A single-

pixel imaging technique uses laser-guided

codes to quickly and efciently manipu-

late stubborn terahertz waves, producing

clear images in a matter of seconds,

which could advance areas such as real-

time skin imaging to promote simple skin

cancer detection.

Unlike other regions of the electro-

magnetic spectrum, terahertz has provedextremely difcult to manipulate for

capturing images of objects and materials

in which these lightwaves interact. Most

existing terahertz imaging devices use

expensive technology or require several

hours and cumbersome manual controls

to generate a viable image, according to

Willie J. Padilla, a physics professor at

Boston College.

In the terahertz gap, conventional elec-

tronic sensors and semiconductor devices

are ineffective. Some systems capture

only a fraction of a scene, so tuning these

terahertz waves is inefcient.

To tame the terahertz gap, it is crucial

to overcome the obstacles of mechan-

ics, cost and image clarity, researchers

maintain. A technology that creates ef-

cient masks capable of tuning terahertz

radiation to produce clear images in just a

few seconds would go a long way toward

this goal.

Padillas method centers on what he

and graduate students David Shreken-

hamer and Claire M. Watts call a coded

aperture multiplex technique, where a

laser beam and electronic signals are used

to send a set of instructions to a semicon-

ductor so it can guide the reproduction

of the image of an object after terahertz

waves have passed through it.

A digital micromirror device encodes

the laser beam with instructions that di-rect certain segments of the silicon mask

to react and allow a selected sample of the

terahertz waves to pass freely through,

consistent with the image pattern. The

combination of optical instructions and

the semiconductors reaction creates a

terahertz spatial light modulator, the

investigators say.

As with the aperture of a conventional

camera, the modulator guides the digital

reconstruction of the entire image based

on a broad sampling of terahertz waves

that have passed through the object.

The method could produce masks of

varying resolutions, ranging from 63 to

1023 pixels, and acquire images at speeds

of up to 0.5 Hz, or about 2 s. The ndings

have demonstrated the viability of obtain-

ing real-time, high-delity terahertz

images using an optically controlled

spatial light modulator with a single-pixel

detector, the researchers said.

Additional laboratory research is en-

A new method for single-pixel terahert z imaging uses a set of inst ructions delivered by a laser beam

to tune terahertz waves to produce new types of terahertz images. During the process, terahert z

waves pass through an object (a); then they strike a silicon semiconductor (b) given specific

instructions about how to sample the image; that data is passed along to digitally reconstruct

an image (c) of the original object in just a few seconds. Courtesy of Claire M. Watts, Boston College.
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hancing terahertz wave control; intr icately patterned metamate-

rials, for example, are being used to manipulate terahertz waves

for faster and more efcient image creat ion, Padilla said.

The research was published in Optics Express(doi: 10.1364/

OE.21.012507).

Erupting nanovolcanoesfor drug deliveryRALEIGH, N.C. Nanovolcanoes carved out of a synthetic

polymer using UV light can store and release precise amounts

of materials, which its creators say makes it suitable for drug-

delivery technologies.

North Carolina State University researchers created the

nanovolcanoes by placing transparent, spherical nanoparticles

directly on a thin lm that, when irradiated with UV light, un-

derwent a chemical change. The lm was submerged in a liquid

solution that washed away the parts of the lm exposed to thelight, yielding a small mound with a hollow core.

We can control the pattern of light by changing the diameter

of the nanoparticle spheres, or by changing the wavelength of

the light that we shine

through the spheres,

said Xu Zhang, a doctoral

student in mechanical

and aerospace engineer-

ing. That means we can

control the shape and

geometry of these struc-

tures, such as how big the

cavity of the nanovolcano

will be.

By controlling the cav-

itys size, the researchers

are able to control the

size of the drug payload.

And, like a volcano, the

structures have a hole at

the top, the size of which

controls the rate of release.

A highly accurate computer model was developed to predict

the shape and dimensions of the nanovolcanoes based on the

diameter of the nanoscale sphere and the wavelength of light.

The materials used in this process are relatively inexpensive,

and the process can be easily scaled up, said assistant professorof mechanical and aerospace engineering Dr. Chih-Hao Chang.

In addition, we can produce the nanovolcanoes in a uniformly

patterned array, which may also be useful for controlling drug

delivery.

The investigators now are working to improve their un-

derstanding of the nanovolcanos release rate, including how

quickly nanoparticles of different sizes will escape from

different-sized volcano mouths.

Thats essentia l information for drug-delivery applications,

Chang said. Its exciting to take our understanding of how light

scatters by particles and apply it to nanolithography in order to

come up with something that could actually help people.

The research appeared inACS Nano(doi: 10.1021/nn402637a).

BIOSCAN b

Cross section of a nanovolcano carved

using UV light. The nanovolcanoes have

precisely measured hollow cores and

openings at their mouth, which make

them a good candidate for drug-delivery

mechanisms, its developers at North

Carolina State University say. Courtesy

of Chih-Hao Chang, NC State.
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RAPIDSCANBusiness and Markets


Dr. Adam Wax is changing the way

we look at cancer. Literally. His

research at Duke University, where

he is a professor in the biomedical engi-

neering department and on the faculty of

the medical physics graduate program,

has focused on improving optical spec-

troscopy for early cancer detection as well

as microscopy and interferometry tech-

niques for biomedical applications. He has

published more than 150 papers and holds

seven patents.

Wax also is the chai rman of Oncoscope

Inc., which he and colleagues founded

in 2006 to explore clinical t ranslation

of Waxs technology, known as angle-

resolved low coherence interferometry

(a/LCI). The companys noninvasive,

scattered-light platform guides physicians

toward sampling cells with enlarged nu-

clei, the primary early marker for cancer.

This allows physicians to examine more

tissue and to do so more quickly, taking

fewer samples for microscopic evaluation

and leaving healthy tissue intact.

BioPhotonicscaught up with Wax this

summer.

Q: What is your company working on

right now?

Wax:Oncoscope is focused on gaining

FDA approval to market our a /LCI device

for detecting precancerous lesions of the

esophagus. The original a /LCI system

was validated in a clinical study (Terry

et al, Gastroenterology2011) that useda prototype instrument developed in my

laboratory at Duke University. This sys-

tem was robust enough for the 50-patient

feasibility study, but in order to t ranslate

the system for clinical use, we had to

redesign several aspects of the system.

For example, the Duke system required

installation of the ber optic probe by our

Ph.D. scientists, while the new Oncoscope

probe features an easily exchanged probe

that can be attached by a technician.

Another important aspect is minimiz-

ing the time required for instrument

preparation between patients. While

the original Duke prototype required a

20-minute Cidex bath for disinfection

between patients, the Oncoscope system

uses a disposable sheath as a barrier. Not

only does this protect the probe and main-

tain disinfection, but the sheath can be ex-

changed easily and quickly, allowing for

fast turnaround between patients. In addi-

tion to these and other hardware changes

designed to make the instrument more

robust and durable, we have also created

a new software interface which improves

ease of use by the physician. With these

design changes nearing completion, we

are eager to begin our pivotal clin ical

study in the near future.

Q: What are the implications of this

project/work?

Wax:Upon FDA approval, the a /LCI

device from Oncoscope will provide a

new way for monitoring patients with

Barretts esophagus (BE), a metaplastic

tissue transformation of the esophagus.

BE patients have an increased chance for

developing esophageal adenocarcinoma,

an awful disease with a dismal 15 percent

ve-year survival rate. Because of this in-

creased risk, BE patients undergo periodic

endoscopic surveil lance procedures to

search for precancerous lesions.

Unfortunately, there is currently no

way for the physician to identify pre-

cancerous cells without taking a biopsy.

However, it is not feasible to take biopsies

from more than a few selected points in

the tissue. The Oncoscope a/LCI device

will enable a physician to examine many

more points in the tissue and guide theirbiopsies to suspicious regions for more

effective surveillance.

Q: Whats the next step?

Wax:Preliminary data from the BIOS

lab at Duke have shown that the approach

is also feasible for detecting precancer-

ous lesions in the colon and cervix. We

are preparing for an in vivo study, under

support from the Coulter translational

partnership, to use a/LCI for detecting

precancerous tissues in patients who

suffer from inammatory bowel dis-

eases, such as Crohns disease and colitis.

This is a similar situation as BE patients

where the tissue condition can cause an

increased risk of cancer so that periodic

surveillance is warranted. However, the

colon is a larger organ than the esophagus

and thus even more biopsies are required

to assess tissue health. The a /LCI device

could help with this clin ical task by en-

abling more tissue sites to be evaluated in

less time.

Application to cervical epithelial tis-

sues is also a compelling target, where

an advanced optical technique like a/LCI

can offer advantages for surveillance

of at-risk patients, such as those with a

positive Papanicolaou smear or human

papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test, but

may also impact screening of the general

population.

Laura S. Marshall

[email protected]

3 Questionswith Dr. Adam Wax of Oncoscope Inc. and Duke University

For more on Waxs work at Duke,

visithttp://bios.bme.duke.edu.

There is currently no way

for the physician to identify

precancerous cells without

taking a biopsy.
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The microuidic device market is expected to reach $5.7 billion by 2018, and the

28 percent compound annual growth rate will be fueled largely by point-of-care

applications and pharmaceutical research, according toMicrouidic applications in

the pharmaceutical, life sciences, in vitro diagnostic and medical device markets, a new

report from Yole Dveloppement of Lyon, France. The health care industry is moving

toward personalized medicine, which means that the line between traditional markets

such as pharmaceuticals and the in vitro diagnostic markets has blurred. More than ever,

rapid, accurate tests are needed to increase pharmaceutical research yield and better

monitor/cure patients. Microuidics can help to ll this need. For more information

or to buy the report, visit www.yole.fr.

Leica Biosystems of Newcastle upon Tyne,

England, has acquired privately held Kreatech

Diagnostics of Amsterdam, a provider of DNA

fluorescence in situ hybridization probes and

target labeling reagents, for an undisclosed

amount. Kreatech will join Leica Biosystems

Advanced Staining business unit, which is

based in the UK. The combined business will

develop targeted biomarker menus for Leicas

instrument platforms. The acquisition will

enable a renewed focus on cytogenetics and

anatomic pathology as well as on personalized

medicine at research and drug development

companies. Leica Biosystems is a provider of

ThermoBrite and Bond systems for labeling tis-

sue specimens for diagnostic interpretation in

cytogenetics and pathology laboratories.

Snake Creek Lasers LLC has moved its office

and manufacturing operations to Friendsville,

Pa., 20 miles west of its previous address. The

new facility offers a more energy-efficient

manufacturing environment, the company

said. Snake Creek Lasers manufactures diode-

pumped solid-state lasers and laser modules

for biomedical, laser projector and aiming

applications.

California-based Biolase Inc.s EPIC 10 soft-

The global market for microscopy

devices was valued at $3 bill ion

in 2011 and is expected to reach

an estimated value of $6.2 billion in

2018 a compound annual growth rate

(CAGR) of 11 percent between 2012

and 2018 according toMicroscopy

Devices Market (Optical, Electron and

Scanning Probe Microscopes, Semi-

conductor, Life Sciences, Nanotech-

nology, Material Sciences) Global

Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth,

Trends and Forecast, 2012-2018, a new

market report published by Transpar-

ency Market Research.

An increasing global focus on nano-

technology research is a major drivingfactor behind the market growth in

microscopy devices, the rm said.

Nanotechnology is nding extensive

applications in the eld of life sciences

as well as materials sciences and

semiconductors, and therefore it is en-

For more information, or to purchase the market report,visit www.transparencymarketresearch.com/microscopy-market.html.

couraging governments and corporate

enterprises across the globe to support

R&D initiatives through public fund-

ing. Nanotechnology and precision

manufacturing industries such as

medical device and semiconductor

manufacturing boosts the adoption

rate of advanced microscopes, which

drives the microscopy device market

signicantly.

North America held the largest

market share in 2011: more than 35

percent. A focus on R&D in nanotech-

nology and life sciences industries,

coupled with large federal and cor-

porate funding in this region, serves

the market as a signicant driver,Transparency Market Research re-

ported. But, the rm added, the Asian

microscopy device market is expected

to grow at the fastest CAGR during the

forecast period to become the largest

market in 2018.

In 2011, Olympus Corp. held the

largest market share of the optical

microscopes market, while Hitachi

High-Technologies Corp. topped the

electron microscopes market. Some

of the other companies discussed in

the report are Nikon Corp., FEI Co.,

JEOL Ltd., Leica Microsystems and

Carl Zeiss.

The market report covers the follow-

ing technologies: optical microscopes,

inverted microscopes, stereomicro-

scopes, phase contrast microscopes,

uorescence microscopes, confocal

scanning microscopes, near-eld

scanning microscopes, electron mi-

croscopes, transmission microscopes,scanning electron microscopes, scan-

ning probe microscopes, scanning

tunneling microscopes, atomic force

microscopes and others.

Global Microscopy Device Market to Hit $6.2B in 2018

BRIEFS

CourtesyofYoleDveloppement.
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18/44


tissue diode laser platform was awarded the

gold medal for the Dental Instruments, Equip-

ment and Supplies category at the 15th Annual

Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA)

ceremony held this year in Philadelphia. The

platform is used for a variety of surgical soft-

tissue procedures in dentistry as an alternative

to conventional devices such as the high-speeddrill, scalpel and electrosurge. Its 940-nm

RAPIDSCANr

Dr. James P. Gordon, co-inventor of the

maser and a seminal contributor to optics and

quantum electronics, died in Rumson, N.J., on

June 21. He was 85. In 1954, as a student of

Charles Hard Townes at Columbia University,

Gordon analyzed, designed, built and suc-cessfully demonstrated the maser (microwave

amplification by stimulated emission of radia-

tion) with Townes and Herbert Zeiger. Their

ammonia maser, based on Einsteins principle

of stimulated emission, laid the groundwork

for the creation of the laser. Gordon spent

his entire career at AT&T Bell Labs, from 1955

until his retirement in

1996; he served as

head of the Quantum

Electronics Research

Department from

1958 to 1980. His

other contributions

laid the founda-

tion for what wouldbecome the fields

of lasers and optical

communications, and

his broad interests

also included provid-

ing the theoretical

basis for optical

tweezers.

James P. Gordon

in February 2010,

attending OSAs

LaserFest gala in

Washington. Courtesy

of OSA.

Charles H. Townes (left), winner of the 1964

Nobel Prize in physics, and James P. Gordon in

1955 with the first maser. Courtesy of Photonics

Spectraarchives.

From left, Klaus Ulbrich, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ludger

Overmeyer and Dr. Dietmar Kracht. Courtesy

of LZH.

PEOPLEIN THE NEWS

Research institute Laser Zentrum Hannover

e.V. (LZH) of Hannover, Germany, has re-

structured its management team to include a

supervisory board, a board of directors and a

general assembly. Dr. Horst Schrage, chief

executive of the Chamber of Commerce and

Industry of Hannover, will chair the supervisory

board. Under the new structure, the board ofdirectors now includes two scientific-technical

executives, Dr.-Ing. Ludger Overmeyerand

Dr. Dietmar Kracht, as well as commercial

executive Klaus Ulbrich. Overmeyer is head

of the Institute of Transport and Automation

Technology of the University of Hannover in

Leibniz (LUH). German scientists and industry

executives will make up the newly created

Scientific Directorate and the Industrial Advi-

sory Board. Dr. Wolfgang Ertmer of LUH will

serve as chair of the Scientific Directorate; Dr.

Volker Schmidtof NiedersachsenMetall has

been named chair of the advisory board.

William Asher has been promoted to presi-

dent of Princeton Instruments (PI), a Trenton,

N.J.-based maker of scientific cameras,

spectrographs and optics. Asher has been

vice president of product development and

engineering at PI for the past eight years. He

previously was general manager of Balzers

Optical Corp., and executive vice president

of operations and engineering at Boston Ad-

vanced Technologies and On-Site Analysis.

ProPhotonix Ltd. of Salem, N.H., has appointed

Philip Feeley asacting chief financial officer

and announced two board appointments.

Feeley has served as corporate controller of

ProPhotonix since joining the company in Oc-

tober 2005. Before that, he was the controller

for GE, General Eastern Instruments for more

than 10 years. ProPhotonix also announced

that Raymond Oglethorpe, lead nonexecu-

tive director, was elected board chairman, and

that Mark Weidmanwas appointed to fillthe nonexecutive director vacancy of Dietmar

Klenner. Weidman is the president of Wheela-

brator Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Waste

Management Inc.

Alain Couder, the chairman and CEO of laser

and optical components provider Oclaro Inc.

of San Jose, Calif., has retired; the board of

directors has named Greg Dougherty CEO.

Dougherty has been a board member since

2009 and brings substantial leadership, opera-

tions, sales, marketing and general manage-

ment experience in the optical and laser

industries, including previous roles as chief op-

erating officer of JDSU and of SDL. The com-

pany also announced that board member Ma-rissa Peterson had been elected chairwoman.

Peterson has been a board member since

2011 and brings to her new position extensive

knowledge in the areas of operations, strategy

and customer relations as well as experience

as a senior executive of a large, complex and

well-respected technology company. She was

formerly executive vice president of worldwide

operations, services and customer advocacy at

Sun Microsystems Inc., which was acquired by

Oracle Corp. in 2010. From August 2008 to the

present, Peterson has been a director of health

care provider Humana Inc.

James Harp has

been named business

development strategic

account manager of

optical filters manu-

facturer Semrock Inc.

of Rochester, N.Y. He

will be responsible

for the Idex Optics

& Photonics brands

high-volume optics business, which includes

hard-coated sputtered coatings and BrightLine

fluorescence filters for Raman spectroscopy,

lasers and optical systems. His most recent

experience includes senior sales leadership

positions with PerkinElmer.

wavelength is better absorbed by hemoglobin

and oxyhemoglobin, enabling it to cut more

efficiently at low power with less heat and

patient discomfort.

Boulder, Colo.-based REOhas named New-

port Corp.of Irvine, Calif., as the exclusive

global sales partner for its range of HeNelasers. Under the terms of the agreement,

Newport will inventory all of REOs HeNe

products, including red, green, yellow, IR and

single-frequency stabilized lasers operating at

633 nm, and will handle all sales and technical

support for new customers through its global

sales team. HeNe lasers are used in a wide

range of applications in bioinstrumentation,

spectroscopy, par ticle measurement, hologra-phy, general research and more.


19/44

BioPhotonics September 2013

Optics and optoelectronics manufacturer

Zeiss of Oberkochen, Germany, has an-

nounced that it will acquire 3-D x-ray micro-

scope providerXradia Inc.of Pleasanton,

Calif., and will rename it Carl Zeiss X-ray

Microscopy Inc.; the purchase price was notreleased. The acquisition will complement

Zeiss microscopy business, which provides

light and laser scanning microscopes, elect ron

and ion microscopes, and spectrometer mod-

ules for research applications in the life and

materials sciences. Adding 3-D imaging within

objects at unprecedented resolution using

x-ray microscopy will now be possible and will

enable new applications and make the work

flow in multimodal imaging easier, said Dr.

Ulrich Simon, head of the Zeiss Microscopy

business group. The transaction is subject to

customary closing conditions, including filing

with the US competit ion authorities.

Light-based identification and diagnostics

solutions providerVisualant Inc.of Seattle

has completed a funding round in excess of $5

million led by Special Situations Technology

Fundsof New York. Founder and CEO Ron

Erickson said that, with this funding, Visualant

has strengthened its balance sheet, completed

the purchase of its TransTech subsidiary and

obtained working capital to support the com-

mercialization of its ChromaID technology,

which col lects l ight patterns using a panel of

LEDs to authenticate and diagnose substances.

The funds also will be used to scale manufac-

turing of its ChromaID F12 scanner lab kits as

well as to bui ld special ized ChromaID products

for the development of new devices and ap-

plications in the health, security and environ-

ment sectors.

BiOptix of Boulder, Colo., has announced a

partnership with the University of Colorado

at Denver to offer low-cost surface plasmon

resonance (SPR) services to Colorado-based

researchers in academia and industry. The

SPR services, offered through the research col-

laboration with the Biophysics Shared Resource

Core Facility at the universitys Anschutz Medi-

cal Campus, are based on BiOptixs 404pi, a

next-generation SPR platform that provides

label-free analysis of protein-protein kinetics

and protein-small molecule interactions.

The Washington-based National Photonics

Initiative (NPI)has applauded the US Pre-

ventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for

its recent recommendation strongly endorsing

low-dose CT scans for patients at high risk forlung cancer. Currently, only 16 percent of lung

cancer patients are diagnosed at a stage when

the disease is most treatable and curable,

making it the most deadly form of cancer in the

US. CT scans can aid in detecting and identify-

ing suspicious lung nodules early and can

determine which nodules are growing at a rate

consistent with the behavior of an aggressive

lung cancer.

Minimally Invasive Devices Inc. (MID)of

Columbus, Ohio, has raised an additional $2.5

million from Radius Ventures, topping off its

Series B financing at $11.5 million. The Series

B originally raised $9 million in a financing led

by Canaan Partnerswith par ticipation by

RAPIDSCAN r

The Biozoom scanner a portable, handheld device for noninvasive transdermal analysis of

antioxidants and other biomarkers in the human body from Biozoom Inc.of Agoura Hills,

Calif., and Kassel, Germany, has been used by researchers at the Charit Berlin medical school

and the University of Rostock in Germany to investigate workplace stress. The scanner was used

to measure antioxidants in the skin of seven midwives, who were selected because of their night-

time shift work, which reportedly raises st ress. The results showed a correlation between stress

intensity and a decline in the midwives antioxidative status, suggesting that antioxidative status

may be adversely affected by shift work.

Biozoom is currently looking for licensees or other par tners for its patented mobile spectros-

copy technology. The companys first commercial product is a handheld scanner for real-time

spectroscopic analysis of biomarkers in the human body, such as antioxidant levels. The intel-

lectual property behind the technology could have applications in optics, nanofiltration and da-

tabase management, among others, Biozoom said. The additional revenue from its intellectual

property is expected to allow the company to develop new applications for its core handheld and

nanoscale spectroscopy business.

Nothing is moresatisfying than

helping an ideacome to fruition.

Kirsten Bjork-Jones, director of global

marketing communications at Edmund

Optics, as the company announced

45 fnalists in its 2013 Higher Educa-

tion Global Grant Program, which will

award more than $85,000 in products to

optics programs in science, technology,

engineering and mathematics at nonproft

colleges and universities

$6.2B the predicted value of the

global market for microscopydevices by 2018; for more informa-

tion, see the story on page 17
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20/44


existing investor Charter Life Sciences.

FloShield, MIDs flagship laparoscopic vision

system, maintains a clear field of vision from

beginning to end in laparoscopic surgery

procedures. The technology easily attaches to

modern HD vision systems, enabling surgery

to occur without interruption, loss of vision,

or scope removal for cleaning. Such remov-

als are time-consuming, interfere with the

OR teams focus, and frequently occur during

critical points in surgery when optimal vision is

critical, leading to surgeon frustration. Funds

will be used for sales and marketing, clin ical

studies, the generation of outcomes data and

additional product development.

The new 2.3 million Europewide ABLADE

(Advanced Bladder cancer LAser Diagnostics

and thErapy) project coordinated by the

University of Dundee, working with industrial

partners will study whether advanced laser

techniques can be used to both detect andtreat the disease. The project will develop

integrated laser diagnostic and therapeutic

techniques exploiting the different ways can-

cerous and healthy cells respond to cer tain IR

light. The project brings together experts from

the universitys Medical School and Photon-

ics and Nanoscience Group, with SPE Lazma

Ltd.in Russia and 2M Netherlands BV. The

grant comes from the EUs Marie Curie IAPP

High PerformanceLasers by Cobolt.

04-01 SeriesCompact SLM DPSSLs

457, 473, 491, 515, 532, 561, 594nm

CW output power up to 300mW, rms


21/44


(Industry-Academia Partnership & Pathways) program. The four-year

project will see staff seconded between the university and the industry

partners, and will create four new research posts.

Quantum Wave Fund (QWave), a new Boston- and Moscow-based

venture capital fund focused on physics and materials sc ience, has

made its first round of investments in companies seeking to commercial-

ize technology related to nanophotonics, metamaterials and quantuminformation processing. QWave will invest a total of $7 million in Nano-

Meta Technologies Inc.of Indiana, Centice Corp. of North Carolina,

and Estonia-based Clifton. Nano-Meta Technologies creates technology

that will enable a new generation of devices for powerful superresolu-

tion imaging, sensing and biomedical applications, among others.

Zecotek Imaging Systems Pte Ltd., the wholly owned subsidiary of

Zecotek Photonics Inc., based in Canada and Singapore, has signed a

joint collaboration agreement with Tokyo-based Hamamatsu Photon-

ics KK to manufacture photodetectors, integrated detector modules, and

associated electronics and data acquisition modules for imaging applica-

tions. The two companies will work to improve existing versions of pho-

todetectors and imaging modules for immediate commercialization, as

well as to develop new instruments for future markets. Both parties will

retain full ownership of their respective patents and intellectual propert y.

Bodkin Design & Engineering (BD&E) LLC of Newton, Mass., has re-

ceived two US patents for enhancements to its nonscanning hyperspec-

tral imaging product line. The patents support technology implemented

for high-speed collection of 3-D hyperspectral images (two spatial

dimensions plus spectral information), and provide flexibility over a trade

between spectral and spatial resolution. Operating in wavelengths rang-

ing from the visible through the longwave IR, the systems can interface

with any fore optics, from telescope to microscope, the company said.

To expand its cell analysis offerings for both research and diagnostics

applications, Life Technologies Corp.of New Delhi has acquiredAd-

vanced Microscopy Group (AMG), a developer of imaging systems for

research microscopy incorporated asWestover Scientic Inc.AMGs

portfolio of imaging instruments spans basic to advanced microscopy.

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RAPIDSCAN r

The world of biophotonics

is constantly evolving and

rightly so, as new technolo-

gies and different applications

for existing devices come into

play. Fifteen years ago, digital

mammography techniques

were promising, especially

for early detection of breast

cancer, but faced the daunting

challenge of getting doctors

to accept the new imaging

methods.

1998At some point, we do have to ask the

question, is it cheaper to have MRI or

other studies done, or just put the needle

in and get a defnitive answer? Professor Joe Hornak

Rochester Institute of Technology
http://www.biophotonics-digital.com/biophotonics/september_2013/TrackLink.action?pageName=21&exitLink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.photonex.orghttp://www.biophotonics-digital.com/biophotonics/september_2013/TrackLink.action?pageName=21&exitLink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.photonex.orghttp://www.biophotonics-digital.com/biophotonics/september_2013/TrackLink.action?pageName=21&exitLink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.photonex.org


22/44

BioPhotonics, the worlds leading magazine

about light and the life sciences,is now available as a FREEmobile app!

Introducing


scan this QR code, or visitwww.photonics.com/apps.
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23/44


SmartphonesSet toRevolutionize the Medical World

but companies developing portable diagnostic devices

for use in underserved settings must rst consider a host of practical factors.

BY GARY BOAS

NEWS EDITOR

The smartphone is an obvious choice

for bringing diagnostic and other

health care options to the develop-

ing world, rural areas and other under-

served places. The technology offers the

necessary computing power, storage andconnectivity in a mobile technology that

is already pervasive, even in regions that

seem isolated.

And the need is very real. For example,

more than 70,000 operating rooms around

the world do not have pulse oximeters.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, most of these

are in the developing world: 41 percent

of operating rooms in South America, 49

percent in South Asia and 70 percent in

sub-Saharan Africa do not have adequate

monitoring of blood oxygen levels reach-

ing the brain.

As for its impact on anesthesia-related

injury, The consequences of this arestaggering, said Dr. Loki Jrgenson,

chief technology ofcer at LionsGate

Technologies of Vancouver, British

Columbia, Canada. Tens of thousands of

lives are lost every year because doctors

are not aware of oxygen levels during

surgery. Anesthesia death rates in the

developing world are up to 1000 times

higher than in the developed world.

LionsGate Technologies has developed a device called a Phone Oximeter to address global

health needs. The device provides the same functionality as a conventional pulse oximeter using

only a low-cost finger sensor and a smartphone. This image shows a research prototype of the device.

Courtesy of LionsGate Technologies.

A ready supplyof smartphonesOne of the myriad challenges

faced by developers of smart-phone-based imaging devicesis the very short life cycle of thephones themselves.

Dr. Aydogan Ozcan has anidea as to how to address thischallenge: encouraging develop-ment of a derivative smartphonemarket. With respect to smart-phones, the motivation is en-tirely different with medical devicecompanies than with consumers:Its not nearly as often driven by

performance or novelty. So therecould be an excellent business op-portunity to provide device design-ers and diagnostics companies witha supply of reliable, inexpensive,older-generation phones.

A company could invest in alarge supply of a particular phone,Ozcan said, and based on salespredictions sign agreements withdevice developers to provide a sup-ply of the phones for, say, the nextfive years; to guarantee

quality control; and so on.This wouldnt just serve healthcare applications in the develop-ing world. A range of other mobilehealth applications could benefit,including home testing andmonitoring, which will be evermore important as our populationcontinues to age.


24/44


On an even more catastrophic scale,

acute respiratory infections in young

children such as pneumonia, asthma

and bronchiolitis are a leading cause

of death around the developing world. In

2011, more than 1.3 million children un-

der the age of 5 died of related infections.

Annually, more than 150 million cases

reach severe disease state and require

hospitalization. However, more than 80

percent of the deaths occur outside of hos-

pitals, largely due to the lack of crit ical

tools and skills to identify key risk factors

in the development of severe pneumonia.

To address these signicant global

health issues, LionsGate has developed

a device it calls the Phone Oximeter. It

serves the same function as the conven-

tional pulse oximeter but uses only a

low-cost nger sensor running through

the audio port of a smartphone. The

device takes advantage of a proprietary

analog-to-digital AC-coupled bridging

framework called the Vital

biophotonics 201309

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