Using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, researchers at Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health and University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in China, Germany and Texas, have developed a new computational tool to screen patients with common but blinding retinal diseases, potentially speeding diagnoses and treatment. The findings are published in the February 22 issue of Cell . "Artificial intelligence (AI) has huge potential to revolutionize disease diagnosis and management by doing analyses and classifications involving immense amounts of data that are difficult for human experts -- and doing them rapidly," said senior author Kang ...

Researchers have developed the first instrument that can provide a detailed image of the entire eye. By incorporating a lens that changes optical parameters in response to an electric current, the innovative technology can produce higher quality images than currently available and could make eye examinations faster and more comfortable for patients by avoiding the need to undergo imaging with multiple instruments to look at different areas of the eye. "Diseases such as glaucoma affect both the front and back portions of the eye," said Ireneusz Grulkowski, whose research team at Nicolaus Copernicus University , Poland, worked with Pablo Artal's ...

Chulhong Kim, Associate Professor of Creative IT Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), has been selected to receive the 2017 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) Academic Early Career Achievement Award for his contributions to 'multi-scale photoacoustic imaging from super-resolution atomic force photoactivated microscopy for research to systems for clinical applications.' This highly prestigious award is given annually to an individual "for significant contributions to the field of biomedical engineering as evidenced by innovative research design, product development, patents, and/or publications made by an individual who is within 10 years of completing their highest ...

The Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging at Helmholtz Zentrum München is heading the "Hybrid optical and optoacoustic endoscope for esophageal tracking" (ESOTRAC) research project, in which engineers and physicians together develop a novel hybrid endoscopic instrument for early diagnosis and staging of esophageal cancer. The device may reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies and, importantly, facilitate early-disease detection leading to earlier start of therapy, which improves therapeutic efficacy over late-disease treatment and leads to immense cost-savings for the health care system. ESOTRAC has been awarded four million Euros from Horizon 2020, the EU framework program for research and ...

An industry-academic collaboration has achieved the first optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of cubic meter volumes. With OCT's ability to provide difficult-to-obtain information on material composition, subsurface structure, coatings, surface roughness and other properties, this advance could open up many new uses for OCT in industry, manufacturing and medicine. The achievement also represents important progress toward developing a high-speed, low-cost OCT system on a single integrated circuit chip. "Our study demonstrates world-record results in cubic meter volume imaging, with at least an order of magnitude larger depth range and volume compared to previous demonstrations of three-dimensional OCT," said James ...

Lehigh University bio-engineers are first to explore the use of highly-sensitive, non-invasive optical coherence tomography (OCT) to examine neuron-to-neuron communication in live tissue. Scientific progress has provided a solid understanding of the anatomy of the brain. However, there is still no reliable way to examine neuron to neuron communication, as it happens--a key to understanding the correlation between brain structure and brain function. Chao Zhou , assistant professor of bioengineering at Lehigh University, likens our current brain-mapping ability to a Global Positioning System (GPS) that can help a user locate a city, but cannot offer a street-level view. With current imaging ...

Rome, Italy 30 August 2016: More than one quarter of heart attack patients who are normally treated with stents to re-open their blocked arteries might be able to forgo this procedure and receive anti-thrombotic medications only, according to results of a pilot study. Results of the EROSION (Effective Anti-thrombotic Therapy without Stenting: Intravascular OCT-based Management in Plaque Erosion) study, presented in a Hot Line session at ESC Congress 2016, and published simultaneously in the European Heart Journal , suggest "a potentially major change in the treatment of a significant number of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS)," said lead investigator Ik-Kyung ...

Engineers and physicians at Duke University have developed a handheld device capable of capturing images of a retina with cellular resolution. The new probe will allow researchers to gather detailed structural information about the eyes of infants and toddlers for the first time. "Diagnostic tools that examine and image the retina have been well-designed for adults, but are exceedingly difficult to use in infants and young children who can't hold the required position or focus for long enough periods of time," said Cynthia Toth, professor of ophthalmology and biomedical engineering at Duke University. "Before now, it hasn't been ...

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology today published a special anniversary edition in their journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science with more than 70 articles to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the invention of Optical Coherence Tomography technology, co-invented by Oregon Health & Science University Casey Eye Institute's David Huang, M.D., Ph.D. while Huang was a Ph.D. student with James Fujimoto, Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. OCT is the most commonly used ophthalmic diagnostic technology worldwide, with an estimated 30 million OCT imaging procedures performed every year. "I am pleased to see how well ...

Researchers have found that the parts of the inner ear that process sounds such as speech and music seem to work differently than other parts of the inner ear. Researchers from Linköping University are part of the team behind the discovery. "This helps us understand the mechanisms that enable us to perceive speech and music. We hope that more knowledge about the capabilities of the ear will lead to better treatments for the hearing impaired," says Anders Fridberger, professor of neuroscience at Linköping University. To perceive speech and music, you must be able to hear low-frequency sound. And ...

University of Arizona researcher Jennifer Barton is leading a two-year, $1 million project funded by the National Cancer Institute to identify imaging biomarkers of ovarian cancer, the most deadly gynecological cancer in the United States. This work may enable the first effective screening system for ovarian cancer. "Located deep in the body, with few early symptoms and no effective screening techniques, ovarian cancer has remained stubbornly difficult to understand, much less effectively combat," said Barton, professor of biomedical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, optical sciences, and agricultural and biosystems engineering, and interim director of the UA BIO5 Institute.

Astronauts who spend time aboard the International Space Station return to Earth with changes to the structure of their eyes which could impact their vision. NASA has studied the phenomenon, known as space flight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS), for several years, and now a University of Houston optometrist has quantified some of the changes using optical coherence tomography imaging, reporting his findings in JAMA Ophthalmology . "We studied pre-flight and post-flight data from 15 astronauts who had spent time aboard the space station and detected changes in morphology of the eyes," said Nimesh Patel, assistant professor. All of them had good vision ...

Researchers have developed a new way to capture the detailed biomechanical properties of heart tissue. The high-resolution optical technique fills an important technology gap necessary to develop and test therapies that might eventually be used to heal heart damage after a heart attack. "Today about one million people suffer heart attacks every year, and there is currently no cure for the resulting cardiac tissue scarring," said Kirill V. Larin of University of Houston , Texas who co-led the research with James F. Martin from the Baylor College of Medicine and the Texas Heart Institute . "We are working to develop ways to ...

Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that is present in tens of thousands of Americans, but is often difficult to diagnose accurately. Now in a study published this week online ahead of print in Neurology , researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found evidence that a simple eye exam and retinal imaging test may help improve that accuracy. Using an inexpensive, non-invasive, eye-imaging technique, the Penn Medicine scientists found that patients with FTD showed thinning of the outer retina--the layers with the photoreceptors through which we see--compared to control subjects. The retina ...

Many of today's cars are coated with paint that exhibits a metallic or glittery shine. The exact sparkle and color you see is determined by the distribution and characteristics of tiny metal flakes used in the paint. A new approach based on the medical imaging technique optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides the car industry with a practical way to automatically analyze these metal flakes, which until now have been difficult to image, in order to improve the efficiency of the automotive finishing process. "We have demonstrated, for the first time, through OCT and our image analysis approach, we are ...

To reduce and better treat spaceflight-induced visual impairment, University of Houston (UH) optometrists are collaborating on a NASA study that examines ocular changes seen in a number of astronauts. The research, developed by Heidelberg Engineering, uses Spectralis® Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), which is a technique for obtaining subsurface images of translucent or opaque materials at a resolution equivalent to a low-power microscope. OCT effectively images reflections from within tissue to provide cross-sectional views. This technology is being used to investigate changes in visual acuity, intraocular pressure, the optic nerve and retinal structures in astronauts exposed to long-duration microgravity aboard the ...

New technology will help scientists study eye disorders in infants, thanks to charitable donations Generous donations from eye charities have allowed the University of Leicester to buy a unique piece of retinal imaging equipment - the only one of its kind in the UK. The handheld retinal scanner will allow new research into eye disorders such as nystagmus, a condition that causes involuntary twitching movements of the eyes. The device is particularly useful for studying the eyes of young children, who often miss out on diagnoses because standard equipment is unsuitable for use with infants. Nystagmus in children is currently poorly ...