OCT is highly potential for dynamic analysis of physiological functions of mental sweating and peripheral
vessels as demonstrated by the authors. Both mental sweating and the peripheral vessels reflect the activity of
the sympathetic nerve of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The sympathetic nerve also exhibits the
LF/HF ratio of the heart rate variability (HRV). In this paper, we demonstrate dynamic analysis of mental
sweating and the peripheral vessels for the external stimulus by SS-OCT. In the experiment, the Kraepelin test
as a continuous stimulus was applied to the volunteer to discuss in detail dynamics of the physiological
function of such small organs in response to the HRV.
We are developing a new light source for swept-source OCT, namely, an external-cavity LD equipped with a KTN
electro-optic deflector. Being free from mechanical resonance, our 1.3-μm laser exhibits scanning range of almost 100
nm up to 200-kHz under a ±300 V deflector driving voltage. Using a semi-empirically derived equation, we find that
KTN's convex lens power degrades the coherence length, and this can be compensated with a cylindrical concave lens.
Such compensation was experimentally confirmed by observing reduction of elliptical beam divergence. OCT images of
a human fingernail are obtained using the swept source.
KEYWORDS: Optical coherence tomography, Nerve, Skin, 3D image processing, In vivo imaging, Reflection, Image resolution, Health sciences, Medicine, Ophthalmology
OCT is highly potential for in vivo observation of human sweating dynamics which affects activity of the
sympathetic nerve. In this paper, we demonstrate dynamic OCT analysis of mental sweating of a group of
eccrin sweat glands. The sweating dynamics is tracked simultaneously for nineteen sweat glands by
time-sequential piled-up en-face OCT images with the frame spacing of 3.3 sec. Strong non-uniformity is
observed in mental sweating where the amount of excess sweat is different for each sweat gland although the
sweat glands are adjacent to each other. The non-uniformity should be necessary to adjust as precisely the
total amount of excess sweat as possible through the sympathetic nerve in response to strength of the stress.
KEYWORDS: Arteries, Optical coherence tomography, Blood circulation, Nerve, Skin, Physiology, Control systems, In vivo imaging, Glasses, Defense and security
OCT is highly potential for development of a new field of dynamic skin physiology, as recently reported by
the authors. In this paper, we demonstrate dynamic analysis of a small artery of a human finger by the
SS-OCT. Among the vascular system, only the small artery has two physiological functions both for the
elastic artery (like main and middle arteries) and for muscle-controlled one (like arterioles). It, therefore, is
important for dynamic analysis of blood flow and circulation. In the time-sequential OCT images obtained
with 25 frames/s, it is found that the small artery makes a sharp response to sound stress for contraction and
expansion while it continues pulsation in synchronization with the heartbeats. This result indicates that the
small artery exhibits clearly the two physiological functions for blood flow and circulation. In response to
sound stress, blood flow is controlled effectively by thickness change of the tunica media which consists of
five to six layers of smooth muscles. It is thus found that the thickness of the tunica media changes
remarkably in response to external stress, reflecting activity of the sympathetic nerve. The dynamic OCT of
the small artery presented here will allow us not only to understand the mechanism of blood flow control and
also to detect abnormal physiological functions in the whole vascular system.
During laser ablation of a diseased area, the surrounding tissues and organs suffer serious damage. In order to
optimize laser ablation of biological tissues, it is necessary to observe the laser ablation in situ. The real-time
imaging of tissue laser ablation is realized in the fusion system of the YAG ablation laser and optical
coherence tomography (OCT). A swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) is combined with a YAG-laser ablation system.
In this paper, we demonstrate real-time OCT imaging of tissue laser ablation. The fiber-optic swept source
OCT (SS-OCT) with 25 frames / s is used for the in situ observation where tissue laser ablation is made
continuously by 10-Hz YAG laser pulses. Dynamic analysis for laser ablation, therefore, is made, taking
thermal effect into account.
KEYWORDS: Optical coherence tomography, Nerve, Signal detection, Skin, Reflection, Stereoscopy, Diagnostics, Coherence (optics), 3D image processing, In vivo imaging
In the dynamic OCT of mental sweating, we have found internal mental sweating without ejection of excess
sweat from the spiral lumen to the skin surface. Internal sweating occurs more often in the case where mental
stress is applied to a volunteer, and it is more useful for evaluation of activity of the sympathetic nerve.
Furthermore, the MIP imaging has been proposed for quick 3-D imaging of the spiral lumen of sweat glands.
Using time-sequential MIP images with the frame spacing as short as 1.4 sec, several sweat glands can be tracked simultaneously to quantify sweating stimulated by a mental stress.
We demonstrate real-time imaging of laser ablation of biological tissue using the fiber-optic swept-source
OCT, which enables us to make the dynamic analysis of both hard and soft tissues including thermal effect on
laser ablation.
KEYWORDS: Optical coherence tomography, Nerve, 3D image processing, Skin, In vivo imaging, Volume rendering, Reflection, Stereoscopy, Quantitative analysis, 3D microstructuring
A novel 3-D image construction method with maximum intensity projection (MIP) of B-mode OCT images is
proposed for in vivo dynamic analysis of mental sweating on human fingertips. Time-sequential MIP-OCT
images with the frame spacing as short as 1.4 sec provide us quantitative analysis of the sweating dynamics to
evaluate of activity of sympathetic nerve. Dynamic changes in the microstructure of eccrin sweat glands can
be clearly observed in the 3-D images constructed by volume rendering.
In laser ablation of biological tissues, tomography of the tissue surface is necessary for measurement of the
crater depth and observation of the thermal damage of the tissue. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a
very promising candidate for an in-situ observation of the tissue. We demonstrate here dynamic analysis of
tissue laser ablation using a real-time OCT.
KEYWORDS: Optical coherence tomography, Skin, Nerve, Reflection, Signal detection, Biological research, In vivo imaging, Medicine, Health sciences, Spatial resolution
Mental sweating is human sweating that is accelerated via the sympathetic nerve by application of mental or physical stress. In the neurosciences, there is keen interest in this type of sweating, because the amount of sweat in response to a stress applied to a volunteer directly reflects activity of the sympathetic nerve. It is therefore of particular value that optical coherence tomography (OCT) can provide clear in vivo imaging of the spiral lumen of an eccrin sweat gland in the epidermis with a spatial resolution around 10 µm. We demonstrate dynamic OCT of mental sweating of an eccrin sweat gland on a human fingertip, where the sweating dynamics can be tracked by time-sequential OCT images with a frame spacing of one second. An instantaneous amount of sweat stored in the spiral lumen is evaluated quantitatively in each OCT image, resulting in time variation measurements of excess sweat in response to mental or physical stress. In the dynamic OCT of mental sweating, as demonstrated here, we note for the first time internal sweating without ejection of excess sweat from the spiral lumen to the skin surface. Internal sweating has not been previously detected without the availability of our dynamic OCT technique. Until now, it has been commonly accepted that sweating is always accompanied with ejection of excess sweat to the skin surface. On the basis of our findings reported here, this type of sweating should now be referred to as external sweating. In this study, we demonstrate that internal sweating occurs more often in the case where mental stress is applied to a volunteer, and that it is more useful for evaluation of activity of the sympathetic nerve. The dynamic OCT for both external and internal sweating is demonstrated.
We demonstrate a novel 3-D image construction method with maximum intensity projection (MIP) of B-mode
images obtained by the swept-source OCT. The time-sequential MIP images with a frame spacing of only 0.7
sec are obtained to make dynamic analysis of mental sweating on human fingertips.
OCT is highly potential for dynamic analysis of eccrin sweat glands. It is found in our experiment that the spiral
lumen of an active sweat gland expands drastically in response to mental stress. Mental-stress-induced sweating is
analyzed quantitatively based on time-sequential OCT images.
OCT is a powerful tool for detection of physiological functions of micro organs underneath the human skin
surface, besides the clinical application to ophthalmology, as recently demonstrated by the authors' group. In
particular, dynamics of peripheral vessels and eccrin sweat glands can be observed clearly in the
time-sequential OCT images. The physiological functions of these micro organs, sweating and blood
circulation, are controlled by the skin sympathetic nerve in response to externally applied stress. In this paper,
we present microscopically analytical results based on the dynamic OCT of the micro organs in human
fingers. In sweating dynamics, it is found that a spiral sweat duct is expanded by abrupt increase of sweat
due to application of stress to a volunteer, resulting in remarkable increase of the reflection light intensity of
the spiral duct in OCT. Mental-stress-induced sweating in each eccrin sweat gland, therefore, is analyzed
quantitatively. Furthermore, dynamic OCT observation of peripheral vessels is interesting. A small vein of a
human finger is observed clearly by the TD-OCT, where the vein expands and contracts repeatedly even in
the resting state for temperature control on the fingertip. A change in the cross-sectional area of the vein
exceeds 80 % for a young volunteer. The dynamic OCT will allow us to propose novel diagnoses of
excessive sweating and diseases related to the sympathetic nerve.
We demonstrate in-vivo imaging of sweat glands of human finger tip using the dynamic optical coherence
tomography (OCT). Mentally-stress-induced sweating in sweat glands of human finger tip can be observed
clearly in time-sequential OCT images. In the experiment, a sweat pore opened clearly on the skin surface
according to a stimulus of sound.
Dynamic optical coherence tomography (OCT) is demonstrated for dynamic study of sweat glands of human finger tip using the all-optical-fiber imaging system. Stress-induced and physical activation of sweat glands can be observed clearly in time-sequential OCT images. The method for image data acquisition is presented as well as the experimental results.
A fiber directional coupler is very often used as the interferometer for optical coherence tomography (OCT). In this paper, we present, for the first time to our knowledge, the experimental result showing influence of wavelength dependence of the fiber interferometer on the axial resolution of OCT in the wavelength region of 0.8 and 1.3/1.5μm.
We have developed an optical fingerprint sensor for personal identification. Conventional sensors detect contact between the convex parts of fingerprints and the input surface of the sensor, however, we have devised a novel sensor that utilizes the optical characteristics of the skin tissue under fingerprints. We obtained tomographic images from under fingerprints by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and discovered that the reflected and scattered light from the skin tissue under the concave parts of fingerprints was lower than the convex parts. In other words, the concave parts had a higher light transmittance than the convex parts. Moreover, even when there were wrinkles in a fingerprint, the same optical characteristics were present. Based on this, we made an experimental sensor that detected fingerprint patterns using light transmittance dispersion in the skin tissue. This sensor consists of light emitting diodes (LED) that irradiate red light from the side of a fingernail and an image formation system that forms an image onto an imaging device, by using the light that penetrated the finger. Using this sensor, we obtained fingerprint pattern images in which the concave parts were brighter than the convex parts. These results showed good agreement with the transmittance dispersion described above. Consequently, it has been demonstrated that a fingerprint sensor utilizing the optical can efficiently increase the recognition of fingerprint patterns of wrinkled or wet fingers, which conventional sensors have difficulty recognizing.
In laser ablation of tissues, tomography of the tissue surface is necessary for measurement of the crater depth and observation of damage of the surrounding tissue. We demonstrate here OCT images of craters made by UV laser ablation of different tissues. The maximum depth of a crater is found among several OCT images, and then the ablation rate is determined. The conventional OCT of the spatial resolution of 15 μm was used in our experiment, but OCT of the resolution of the order of 1 μm is required because the ablation rate is usually a few microns per pulse. Such a high-resolution OCT is also demonstrated in this paper, where the light source is a halogen lamp. Combination of laser ablation and OCT will lead to in situ tomographic observation of tissue surface during laser ablation, which should allow us to develop new laser surgeries.
Very recently, we proposed and demonstrated a novel optical reflection tomography along the geometrical thickness, reflecting a real cross-sectional structure of an object. This technique is based on simultaneous measurement of refractive index n and thickness t of a sample using the combination of a low coherence interferometer and confocal optics. The interferometer provides optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the dimension of the optical thickness (=n x t) along the optical axis, while the confocal optics gives us another type of reflection tomography, having the thickness dimension of nearly t/n along the optical axis. This tomography can be called confocal reflection tomography (CRT) and has not yet been demonstrated, to our knowledge. Simple image processing of OCT and CRT results in desired reflection tomographic image, showing 2D refractive index distribution along the geometrical thickness. In this paper, we present the validity of our proposed method using the concave glass plate as well as the application for in vivo measurement of biological tissue.
Various functions of biological membranes are closely related to phase transition of phospholipid bilayers. However, there has been no possible method for in vivo measurement to detect the phase transition of biological membranes. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel method for detection of biological membranes using the low coherence interferometry. In the experiment, rat mesentery was used as the sample of biological membranes, and the refractive index of the mesentery was measured precisely as the sample temperature was changed. Abrupt change in both the index and transmission of the mesentery can be found in the temperature range of 38 percent C to 42 percent C, which is good agreement with the temperature range for the gel-to- liquid phase transition of the artificial membrane. Our method does not require any treatments, including fragmentation and centrifugation, for extraction of phospholipid bilayers form biological membranes. It, therefore, is a useful method for in vivo measurement and analysis of the membrane functions.
We demonstrate the nanosecond time-gated spectroscopy of plume in laser ablation of biological tissue, which allows us to detect calcium (Ca) with high sensitivity by the use of either a UV or a near-IR laser pulse. Clear and sharp peaks of Ca+ appear in the luminescence spectrum of laser-ablation plume although the Ca content is only 0.1 percent in human hair and nail. Luminescence peaks of sodium atom (Na) and ionized carbon are also detectable. This specific spectroscopy is low invasive because a single low-energy laser pulse illuminates the tissue sample, and it does not require any poisonous sensititizers like fluorescence dye. This method, therefore, is a promising candidate for optical biopsy in the near future. In particular, Ca detection of human hair may lead to new diagnosis, including monitor of daily intake of Ca and a screening diagnosis of osteoporosis.
Very recently, we developed a computer-controlled low- coherence interferometer system with precise translation stages for simultaneous measurement of refractive index and thickness. Both phase and group indices can be determined automatically in a wide thickness range of 20 micrometer to a few mm. This paper presents the system configuration and the measurement principle accompanied with typical examples of automatic measurement.
The epitaxial growth of LiNbO3 films by the ArF excimer laser ablation is demonstrated to form electro-optic (EO) thin-film waveguides on sapphire and LiTaO3 c-plates. The x- ray diffraction spectra indicate that the resulting films are well oriented along the c axis when a Li-rich LiNbO3 ceramics is used as the target. The chemical composition of the film was successfully evaluated by measurement of the extraordinary index ne on the basis of the guided-wave excitation with prism couplers. Stoichiometric films are grown on both sapphire and LiTaO3 c-plates by changing the content of excess Li2O in the target. The propagation loss of 6 dB/cm was attained in the thin-film waveguide on LiTaO3 c- plate. In addition, the EO effect of the film was roughly estimated by fabrication and characterization of a light deflector with an EO grating.
This paper presents the recent topics of the laser-beam (LB) writing techniques for fabrication of integrated-optic devices in Ti:LiNbO3 in addition to the practical LB writing system for channel waveguide patterning in photoresist. Recently, the direct LB writing of TiO2 channels on LiNbO3 was demonstrated, providing the photoresist-free process for fabrication of Ti:LiNbO3 waveguides with higher accuracy and reproducibility. Besides the channel waveguide patterning, the interdigital electrodes required for TE-TM mode conversion in Ti:LiNbO3 waveguide wavelength filters can be defined with an accuracy of the order of nanometer by a unique LB writing technique that is the so-called LB periodic-dot writing. The writing accuracy is discussed in detail as well as the performance of the fabricated filter.
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