Alicia Fernández-Oliveras

Comparison of spectacle-lens optical quality by modulation transfer function measurements based on random-dot patterns

We present a method for comparing the optical quality of spectacle lenses based on determining the modulation transfer function (MTF) using random-dot patterns. Furthermore, we determine the precision of the method under repeatability conditions of measurement. The experimental device is composed of a laptop computer in which the LCD monitor presents the random-dot pattern, a liquid-crystal tunable filter, the lens under test, and a charge-coupled device detector connected to its control card installed in another computer. The method proposed has major advantages: the lenses can be characterized at different wavelengths; no additional sources to illuminate the pattern are required, the monitors lighting source itself is used; and the characteristics of the pattern can be quickly and easily modified, as we install the control software in the laptop computer. We analyze three spherical spectacle lenses (+5 D) from different manufacturers and, in terms of MTF, the greatest difference found between them is 13.7%. The uncertainty associated with this method falls within the range of 0.001 and 0.06. Given the low uncertainty values, differences found between the lenses are significant. Therefore, the method proposed is a versatile and quick technique to distinguish the optical quality of spectacle lenses from different manufacturers.

Measurements of scattering anisotropy in dental tissue and zirconia ceramic

Knowledge of the optical properties of biological structures is useful for clinical applications, especially when dealing with incoming biomaterials engineered to improve the benefits for the patient. One ceramic material currently used in restorative dentistry is yttrium cation-doped tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (3Y-TZP) because of its good mechanical properties. However, its optical properties have not been thoroughly studied. Many methods for the determination of optical parameters from biological media make the assumption that scattered light is isotropically distributed over all angles. Nevertheless, real biological materials may have an angular dependence on light scattering, which may affect the optical behaviour of the materials. Therefore, the recovery of the degree of anisotropy in the scattering angular distribution is important. The phase function that represents the scattering angular distribution is usually characterized by the anisotropy coefficient g, which equals the average cosine of the scattering angle. In this work, we measured angularscattering distributions for two zirconia ceramic samples, pre-sintered and sintered, with similar thicknesses (0.48 mm and 0.50 mm, respectively) and also for a human dentine sample (0.41 mm in thickness). The samples were irradiated with a He-Ne laser beam (λ = 632.8 nm) and the angular-scattering distributions were measured using a rotating goniometer. The g values yielded were: -0.7970 ± 0.0016 for pre-sintered zirconia, -0.2074 ± 0.0024 for sintered zirconia and 0.0620 ± 0.0010 for dentine. The results show that zirconia sintering results in optical behaviour more similar to those of dentine tissue, in terms of scattering anisotropy.

Comparison between experimental and computational methods for scattering anisotropy coefficient determination in dental-resin composites

Understanding the behaviour of light propagation in biological materials is essential for biomedical engineering and its applications. Among the key optical properties of biological media is the angular distribution of the scattered light, characterized by the average cosine of the scattering angle, called the scattering anisotropy coefficient (g). The value of g can be determined by experimentally irradiating the material with a laser beam and making angular-scattering measurements in a goniometer. In this work, an experimental technique was used to determine g by means of goniometric measurements of the laser light scattered off two different dental-resin composites (classified as nano and hybrid). To assess the accuracy of the experimental method, a Mie theory-based computational model was used. Independent measurements were used to determine some of the required input parameters for computation of the theoretical model. The g values estimated with the computational method (nano-filled: 0.9399; hybrid: 0.8975) and the values calculated with the experimental method presented (nano-filled: 0.98297 ± 0.00021; hybrid: 0.95429 ± 0.00014) agreed well for both dental resins, with slightly higher experimental values. The higher experimental values may indicate that the scattering particle causes more narrow-angle scattering than does a perfect sphere of equal volume, assuming that with more spherical scattering particles the scattering anisotropy coefficient increases. Since g represents the angular distribution of the scattered light, values provided by both the experimental and the computational methods show a strongly forward-directed scattering in the dental resins studied, more pronounced in the nano-filled composite than in the hybrid composite.

Microtopographic non-invasive inspection for determining roughness parameters of dental biomaterials

In this work we experimentally analyze the roughness parameters of two types of dental-resin composites and pre-sintered and sintered zirconia ceramics. We studied two shades of both composite types and two sintered zirconia ceramics: colored and uncolored. A surface treatment was applied to one specimen of each dental-resin. The samples were submitted to non-invasive inspection with the MICROTOP.06.MFC laser microtopographer to gather meaningful surface statistical parameters. For a comparison of the different biomaterials, the uncertainties associated to the surface parameters were also determined. Except for the composites with the surface treatment, the sample surfaces had approximately a normal distribution of heights.

Teaching methodologies to promote creativity in the professional skills related to optics knowledge

We present the methodologies proposed and applied in the context of a teaching-innovation project developed at the University of Granada, Spain. The main objective of the project is the implementation of teaching methodologies that promote the creativity in the learning process and, subsequently, in the acquisition of professional skills. This project involves two subjects related with optics knowledge in undergraduate students. The subjects are “Illumination Engineering” (Bachelor’s degree in Civil-Engineering) and “Optical and Optometric Instrumentation” (Bachelor’s degree in and Optics and Optometry). For the first subject, the activities of our project were carried out in the theoretical classes. By contrast, in the case of the second subject, such activities were designed for the laboratory sessions. For “Illumination Engineering” we applied the maieutic technique. With this method the students were encouraged to establish relationships between the main applications of the subject and concepts that apparently unrelated with the subject framework. By means of several examples, the students became aware of the importance of cross-curricular and lateral thinking. We used the technique based on protocols of control and change in “Optical and Optometric Instrumentation”. The modus operandi was focused on prompting the students to adopt the role of the professionals and to pose questions to themselves concerning the practical content of the subject from that professional role. This mechanism boosted the critical capacity and the independent-learning ability of the students. In this work, we describe in detail both subject proposals and the results of their application in the 2011-2012 academic course.

Course for undergraduate students: analysis of the retinal image quality of a human eye model

In teaching of Vision Physics or Physiological Optics, the knowledge and analysis of the aberration that the human eye presents are of great interest, since this information allows a proper evaluation of the quality of the retinal image. The objective of the present work is that the students acquire the required competencies which will allow them to evaluate the optical quality of the human visual system for emmetropic and ammetropic eye, both with and without the optical compensation. For this purpose, an optical system corresponding to the Navarro-Escudero eye model, which allows calculating and evaluating the aberration of this eye model in different ammetropic conditions, was developed employing the OSLO LT software. The optical quality of the visual system will be assessed through determinations of the third and fifth order aberration coefficients, the impact diagram, wavefront analysis, calculation of the Point Spread Function and the Modulation Transfer Function for ammetropic individuals, with myopia or hyperopia, both with or without the optical compensation. This course is expected to be of great interest for student of Optics and Optometry Sciences, last courses of Physics or medical sciences related with human vision.

Rugometric and microtopographic non-invasive inspection in dental-resin composites and zirconia ceramics

Surface properties are essential for a complete characterization of biomaterials. In restorative dentistry, the study of the surface properties of materials meant to replace dental tissues in an irreversibly diseased tooth is important to avoid harmful changes in future treatments. We have experimentally analyzed the surface characterization parameters of two different types of dental-resin composites and pre-sintered and sintered zirconia ceramics. We studied two shades of both composite types and two sintered zirconia ceramics: colored and uncolored. Moreover, a surface treatment was applied to one specimen of each dental-resin. All the samples were submitted to rugometric and microtopographic non-invasive inspection with the MICROTOP.06.MFC laser microtopographer in order to gather meaningful statistical parameters such as the average roughness (Ra), the root-mean-square deviation (Rq), the skewness (Rsk), and the kurtosis of the surface height distribution (Rku). For a comparison of the different biomaterials, the uncertainties associated to the surface parameters were also determined. With respect to Ra and Rq, significant differences between the composite shades were found. Among the dental resins, the nanocomposite presented the highest values and, for the zirconia ceramics, the pre-sintered sample registered the lowest ones. The composite performance may have been due to cluster-formation variations. Except for the composites with the surface treatment, the sample surfaces had approximately a normal distribution of heights. The surface treatment applied to the composites increased the average roughness and moved the height distribution farther away from the normal distribution. The zirconia-sintering process resulted in higher average roughness without affecting the height distribution.

Reflectance of interurban-road pavements from radar-based measurements

Reflectance measurements in interurban-road typical pavements are essential for traffic security. The reflectance of interurban-road pavements presents high variability due to such variables as climatic and atmospheric conditions and the presence of foreign materials on the road (e.g. dirt, fuel or oil). For this reason, the recording of real-time measurements for these kinds of pavements is a complex task. However, its critical importance in traffic safety demands precise measurements under all the possible conditions. In this context, the use of remote-sensing systems working in the radar spectral range is of great interest. With active sensors that receive their own radar signal, the reflectance measurements made by the remote-sensing system are not influenced by the atmospheric conditions. In this work, we present a radar-based methodology to develop real-time measurements of the reflectance in typical interurban-road pavements. We are engaged in extending this new method to study the reflectance of interurban-road pavements within the visible spectrum.

Determination of optical properties in dental restorative biomaterials using the inverse-adding-doubling method

Light propagation in biological media is characterized by the absorption coefficient, the scattering coefficient, the scattering phase function, the refractive index, and the surface conditions (roughness). By means of the inverse-adding-doubling (IAD) method, transmittance and reflectance measurements lead to the determination of the absorption coefficient and the reduced scattering coefficient. The additional measurement of the phase function performed by goniometry allows the separation of the reduced scattering coefficient into the scattering coefficient and the scattering anisotropy factor. The majority of techniques, such as the one utilized in this work, involve the use of integrating spheres to measure total transmission and reflection. We have employed an integrating sphere setup to measure the total transmittance and reflectance of dental biomaterials used in restorative dentistry. Dental biomaterials are meant to replace dental tissues, such as enamel and dentine, in irreversibly diseased teeth. In previous works we performed goniometric measurements in order to evaluate the scattering anisotropy factor for these kinds of materials. In the present work we have used the IAD method to combine the measurements performed using the integrating sphere setup with the results of the previous goniometric measurements. The aim was to optically characterize the dental biomaterials analyzed, since whole studies to assess the appropriate material properties are required in medical applications. In this context, complete optical characterizations play an important role in achieving the fulfillment of optimal quality and the final success of dental biomaterials used in restorative dentistry.

Gloss measurements and rugometric inspection in dental biomaterials

In dental applications, optimizing appearance is desirable and increasingly demanded by patients. The specular gloss is among the major appearance properties of dental biomaterials, and its relationship with surface roughness has been reported. Roughness and gloss are key surface aspects that complement each other. We have experimentally analyzed the specular gloss and surface roughness of two different types of dental-resin composites and pre-sintered and sintered zirconia ceramics. We have studied two shades of both composite types and two sintered zirconia ceramics: colored and uncolored. Moreover, a surface treatment was applied to one specimen of each dental resin. Gloss measurements were performed with a standardized reflectometer and the corresponding gloss percentages were calculated. All the samples were submitted to rugometric non-invasive inspection with the MICROTOP.06.MFC laser microtopographer in order to determine meaningful statistical parameters such as the average roughness (Ra) and the root-mean-square deviation (Rq). For a comparison of the different biomaterials, the uncertainties associated to the measure of the surface gloss and roughness were also determined. The differences between the two shades of both kinds of composites proved significant in the case of the roughness parameters but not for the specular gloss. The surface treatment applied to the dental-resin composites increased the average roughness but the changes in the specular gloss were significant only for the A2 enamel nano-composite. For the zirconia ceramic the sintered process resulted in an increase in the surface roughness with a decrease of the specular gloss, corroborating that the relationship between the gloss and the roughness shows the expected behavior.