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Highlights of Frontiers in Optics 2010/Laser Science XXVI Meeting

Scientists and engineers from around the world will gather on the shores of Lake Ontario in Rochester, N.Y. next week to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in lasers and optics and their applications to cutting-edge science, the development of new materials, and medicine.

21 Oct 2010

New brush optrode improves optical scanning of brain activity

One of the main techniques for measuring and monitoring mental activity, called functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), can often be impaired because a person's hair gets in the way. But now, thanks to a team of researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Arlington, a novel device called a "brush optrode" is providing increased sensitivity with fiber tips designed to thread through hair to enhance scalp contact.

20 Oct 2010

Personalized cancer drug delivery could soon be a reality

Imagine the day a machine can draw your blood, screen it for genetic mutations and chemical variations that can cause cancer, and pop out a drug tailor-made for your DNA.

1 Oct 2010

Optogenetics helps to restore optimal movement in people with physical disabilities

Researchers at Stanford University were able to use light to induce normal patterns of muscle contraction, in a study involving bioengineered mice whose nerve-cell surfaces are coated with special light-sensitive proteins.

28 Sep 2010

Solta Medical's Fraxel re:store Dual system for actinic keratosis receives FDA 510(k) clearance

Solta Medical, Inc., the pioneer in fractional resurfacing and non-invasive skin tightening and a market leader in aesthetic skin treatments, today announced it has received FDA 510(k) clearance of its Fraxel re:store®Dual for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AKs). The Fraxel re:store Dual system takes the industry leading fractional laser technology to the next level by adding a novel 1927 nm wavelength, the first ever application of a Thulium laser in the aesthetics market.

17 Sep 2010

Platinum and light together fight cancer

Researchers continue to search for cancer treatments that effectively destroy tumor cells while protecting surrounding healthy tissue and the body. One intriguing approach involves photoactivated drugs: an inactive precursor would be administered, then the diseased tissue could be irradiated to convert the drug into its cytotoxic form locally.

14 Sep 2010

San Antonio podiatrist offers new MLS Therapy for pain management

Dr. Ed Davis, a podiatrist with offices in San Antonio, TX and Live Oak, TX, announces the immediate offering of a new form of laser therapy to patients in the San Antonio area. The addition is part of Dr. Davis' continued investment in advanced technologies and progressive procedures.

8 Sep 2010

Researchers clear hurdle on path toward gene-therapy treatment for disease

One of the most difficult aspects of working at the nanoscale is actually seeing the object being worked on. Biological structures like viruses, which are smaller than the wavelength of light, are invisible to standard optical microscopes and difficult to capture in their native form with other imaging techniques.

2 Sep 2010

Multispectral imaging of ocular fundus using new LED Illumination system

A new imaging system using six different wavelengths to illuminate the interior of the eyeball (ocular fundus) may pave the way for doctors to easily screen patients for common diseases of the eye, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. The system is described in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments, which is published by the American Institute of Physics.

2 Sep 2010

23rd ECNP Press conference on impact of circadian rhythms on human brain

All humans are synchronised to the rhythmic light-dark changes that occur on a daily basis. Rhythms in physiological and biochemical processes and behavioural patterns persist in the absence of all external 24-hour signals from the physical environment, with a period that is close to 24 hours

30 Aug 2010

Researchers develop high-resolution technology to visualize individual virus particles

In the war against infectious disease, identifying the culprit is half the battle. Now, research professor Shaopeng Wang and his colleagues from the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, describe a new method for visualizing individual virus particles. Their research opens the door to a more detailed understanding of these minute pathogens, and may further the study of a broad range of micro- and nanoscale phenomena.

25 Aug 2010

USPTO rules out Oculir's claim on noninvasive glucose measuring device patent

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has held that all claims in Oculir's Patent No. 6,958,039 to be invalid as not patentable based on prior art from a patent disclosure by Yale researcher, Dr. Marc Abreu.

20 Aug 2010

USPTO grants IRIDEX patent for MicroPulse technology in laser eye surgery

IRIDEX Corporation today announced the receipt of issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,771,417, titled "Laser System with Short Pulse Characteristics And Its Method Of Use." This patent applies to the company's MicroPulse™ technology which provides the ophthalmologist with fine dose control of laser energy during eye surgery. Ophthalmologists are using MicroPulse technology to treat patients suffering from diabetic retinopathy and other sight-threatening retinal and glaucoma disorders.

18 Aug 2010

World's smallest ultrasonic transducers

Scientists and Engineers at The University of Nottingham have built the world's smallest ultrasonic transducers capable of generating and detecting ultrasound.

16 Aug 2010

Cox Business light-speed computer accelerates TGen’s molecular research

A Cox Business light-speed computer connection coupled with advanced, military-grade technology now provides Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) with the nation's fastest supercomputer link among life-sciences facilities.

16 Aug 2010

Cox Business light-speed computer connection provides TGen with fastest supercomputer link

A Cox Business light-speed computer connection coupled with advanced, military-grade technology now provides Translational Genomics Research Institute with the nation's fastest supercomputer link among life-sciences facilities.

13 Aug 2010

Scientists develop new imaging technique to create three-dimensional images of melanoma

Melanoma is one of the less common types of skin cancer but it accounts for the majority of the skin cancer deaths (about 75 percent).The five-year survival rate for early stage melanoma is very high (98 percent), but the rate drops precipitously if the cancer is detected late or there is recurrence.So a great deal rides on the accuracy of the initial surgery, where the goal is to remove as little tissue as possible while obtaining "clean margins" all around the tumor.So far no imaging technique has been up to the task of defining the melanoma's boundaries accurately enough to guide surgery.Instead surgeons tend to cut well beyond the visible margins of the lesion in order to be certain they remove all the malignant tissue.Two scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed technologies that together promise to solve this difficult problem.

12 Aug 2010

SMI/Omega development team receives fund to develop prototype fast multispectral endoscope

Cascade Technologies, Inc., announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary Spectral Molecular Imaging, Inc. (SMI) will receive NIH research funding through a collaboration with Omega Optical of Brattleboro, Vermont. This effort will accelerate development of a new class of medical endoscopes enhanced with proprietary multispectral imaging technology. The principal investigators on the project are Dr. Gary Carver, Director of Research at Omega Optical, and Dr. Daniel L. Farkas, Chairman and CEO of SMI.

11 Aug 2010

Biotage launches Isolera ELSD-1080 evaporative light-scattering detector for flash purification

Biotage, a leading supplier of tools and technology for medicinal and analytical chemistry, announced the launch of the Isolera ELSD-1080 evaporative light-scattering detector for flash purification. With the addition of the ELSD-1080, Biotage now provides a flash purification solution for nearly every compound type including semi-volatile UV transparent as well as UV absorbing compounds.

30 Jul 2010

NYU Langone opens vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy trial to men with localized prostate cancer

NYU Langone Medical Center has begun a clinical trial offering vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy to patients with localized prostate cancer. This novel, minimally invasive procedure uses a light-activated drug to deliver light energy waves by way of laser fibers in order to destroy prostate cancer cells.

28 Jul 2010