Haniel Gabai

Optical‐mechanical signatures of cancer cells based on fluctuation profiles measured by interferometry

We propose to establish a cancer biomarker based on the unique optical-mechanical signatures of cancer cells measured in a noncontact, label-free manner by optical interferometry. Using wide-field interferometric phase microscopy (IPM), implemented by a portable, off-axis, common-path and low-coherence interferometric module, we quantitatively measured the time-dependent, nanometer-scale optical thickness fluctuation maps of live cells in vitro. We found that cancer cells fluctuate significantly more than healthy cells, and that metastatic cancer cells fluctuate significantly more than primary cancer cells. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements validated the results. Our study shows the potential of IPM as a simple clinical tool for aiding in diagnosis and monitoring of cancer.

Dual-channel low-coherence interferometry and its application to quantitative phase imaging of fingerprints

We introduce an off-axis, wide-field, low-coherence and dual-channel interferometric imaging system, which is based on a simple-to-align, common-path interferometer. The system requires no optical-path-difference matching between the interferometric arms in order to obtain interference with low-coherence light source, and is capable of achieving two channels of off-axis interference with high spatial frequency. The two 180°-phase-shifted interferograms are acquired simultaneously using a single digital camera, and processed into a single, noise-reduced and DC-suppressed interferogram. We demonstrate using the proposed system for phase imaging of fingerprint templates. Due to the fact that conventional phase unwrapping algorithms cannot handle the complex and deep surface topography imposed by fingerprint templates, we experimentally implemented two-wavelength phase unwrapping using a supercontinuum laser coupled to acousto-optical tunable filter, together functioning as a low-coherence tunable light source. From the unwrapped phase map, we produced high quality depth profiles of fingerprint templates.

Optical frequency domain reflectometry at maximum update rate using I/Q detection.

We introduce a new optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) system and processing method that utilize negative beat frequencies for the first time. The new approach enables efficient use of the available system bandwidth and facilitates distributed sensing with the maximum allowable update rate for a given fiber length. This is achieved by using a coherent optical-communications-type receiver that detects both the in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the backscatter field. The I and Q components are digitally combined to produce a complex backscatter signal whose Fourier transform is not necessarily symmetric. Judicious processing of the complex backscatter signal maps the reflection profile of one half of the sensing fiber to positive beat-frequencies and the profile of the other half to negative beat-frequencies. The new approach was tested via comprehensive computer simulations and experiment.

Continuous wide-field characterization of drug release from skin substitute using off-axis interferometry

We achieved continuous, noncontact wide-field imaging and characterization of drug release from a polymeric device in vitro by uniquely using off-axis interferometric imaging. Unlike the current gold-standard methods in this field, which are usually based on chromatography and spectroscopy, our method requires no user intervention during the experiment and involves less lab consumable instruments. Using a simplified interferometric imaging system, we experimentally demonstrate the characterization of anesthetic drug release (Bupivacaine) from a soy-based protein matrix, which is used as a skin substitute for wound dressing. Our results demonstrate the potential of interferometric imaging as an inexpensive and easy-to-use alternative for characterization of drug release in vitro.

Multiplexing of fiber-optic ultrasound sensors via swept frequency interferometry

The use of fiber-optic sensors for ultrasound (US) detection has many advantages over conventional piezoelectric detectors. However, the issue of multiplexing remains a major challenge. Here, a novel approach for multiplexing fiber-optic based US sensors using swept frequency interferometry is introduced. Light from a coherent swept source propagates in an all-fiber interferometric network made of a reference arm and a parallel connection of N sensing arms. Each sensing arm comprises a short polyimide coated sensing section (~4cm), which is exposed to the US excitation, preceded by a delay of different length. When the instantaneous frequency of the laser is linearly swept, the receiver output contains N harmonic beat components which correspond to the various optical paths. Exposing the sensing sections to US excitation introduces phase modulation of the harmonic components. The US-induced signals can be separated in the frequency domain and be extracted from their carriers by common demodulation techniques. The method was demonstrated by multiplexing 4 sensing fibers and detecting microsecond US pulses which were generated by a 2.25MHz ultrasound transducer. The pulses were successfully measured by all sensing fibers without noticeable cross-talk.

Broadband ultrasonic sensor array via optical frequency domain reflectometry

We introduce a new approach for multiplexing fiber-based ultrasound sensors using Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR). In the present demonstration of the method, each sensor was a short section of Polyimide-coated single-mode fiber. One end of the sensing fiber was pigtailed to a mirror and the other end was connected, via a fiber optic delay line, to a 1X4 fiber coupler. The multiplexing was enabled by using a different delay to each sensor. Ultrasonic excitation was performed by a 1MHz transducer which transmitted 4μs tone-bursts above the sensor array. The ultrasound waves generated optical phase variations in the fibers which were detected using the OFDR method. The ultrasound field at the sensors was successfully reconstructed without any noticeable cross-talk.

Over 100km long ultra-sensitive dynamic sensing via Gated-OFDR

Cumulative acoustically-induced phase modulation along the sensing fiber significantly degrades the performance of Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR) systems. Here we present a new method to mitigate this phenomenon using hybrid time-frequency interrogation and analysis. The method, which we term Gated-OFDR (G-OFDR), achieves remarkable results: ultra-sensitive dynamic sensing at z≈101km with 1.4m spatial resolution and acoustical sampling rate of 600Hz. As an example, the system detected and recorded, with high SNR, falls of two ~1g paperclips from height of ~20cm, on two fiber sections, 10m apart, at the end of the 101km fiber, without any crosstalk artifacts.

How to specify and measure sensitivity in distributed acoustic sensing (DAS)

In Rayleigh-scattering-based Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) an optical fiber is transformed into an array of thousands of ‘virtual microphones’. This approach has gained tremendous popularity in recent years and is one of the most successful examples of a fiber-optic sensing method which made its way from the academia to the market. Despite the great amount of work done in this field, sensitivity, which is ones of the most critical parameters of any sensing technique, was rarely investigated in this context. In particular, little attention was given to its random characteristics. Without careful consideration of the random aspects of DAS, any attempt to specify its sensitivity or to compare between different DAS modalities is of limited value. Recently we introduced a new statistical parameter which defines DAS-sensitivity and enables comparison between the performances of different DAS systems. In this paper we generalize the previous parameter and give a broader, simple and intuitive definition to DAS sensitivity. An important attribute of these parameters is that they can be easily extracted from the static backscatter profile of the sensing fiber. In the paper we derive the relation between DAS sensitivity and the static backscatter profile and present an experimental verification of this relation.

Distributed acoustic sensing: How to make the best out of the Rayleigh-backscattered energy?

Coherent fading noise (also known as speckle noise) affects the SNR and sensitivity of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) systems and makes them random processes of position and time. As in speckle noise, the statistical distribution of DAS SNR is particularly wide and its standard deviation (STD) roughly equals its mean (σSNR/〈SNR〉 œ 0.89). Trading resolution for SNR may improve the mean SNR but not necessarily narrow its distribution. Here a new approach to achieve both SNR improvement (by sacrificing resolution) and narrowing of the distribution is introduced. The method is based on acquiring high resolution complex backscatter profiles of the sensing fiber, using them to compute complex power profiles of the fiber which retain phase variation information and filtering of the power profiles. The approach is tested via a computer simulation and demonstrates distribution narrowing up to σSNR/〈SNR〉 < 0.2.

Lumped Rayleigh reflectors

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) via optical fibers makes use of Rayleigh backscattering for the detection of acoustic waves that interact with the fiber along its entire length. The random nature of Rayleigh backscattering leads to nonuniform performance along the fiber and, occasionally, to complete signal fading. In addition, distance-dependent signal-to-noise (SNR) degradation is always present due to propagation loss. In contrast, using arrays of discrete reflectors [such as weak fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) with equal center wavelengths] offers deterministic performance which can be designed to be uniform along the fiber. Here we describe an approach for implementing Rayleigh-based discrete reflectors that can offer enhanced detection performance in selected regions. It is based on enclosing sections of the fiber in acoustically insulated boxes to create lumped Rayleigh reflectors. Besides diminishing the randomness in detection sensitivity, the method enables increasing the detection SNR far beyond the typical value for Rayleigh-based DAS and obtaining sensitivities comparable with discrete reflectors. The proposed method was successfully tested via both simulation and experiment.