We present a fiber-optic sensor based on the principles of a Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI), which promptly, sensitively, and precisely detects blood clot formation. This sensor has two types of sensor tips; the first was crafted by splicing a tapered fiber into a single-mode fiber (SMF), where fine-tuning was achieved by adjusting the tapered diameter and length. The second type is an ultra-compact blood FPI situated on the core of a single-mode fiber. The sensor performance was evaluated via clot-formation-indicating spectrum shifts induced by the varied quantities of a thrombin reagent introduced into the blood. The most remarkable spectral sensitivity of the micro-tip fiber type was approximately 7 nm/μL, with a power sensitivity of 4.1 dB/μL, obtained with a taper fiber diameter and length of 55 and 300 μm, respectively. For the SMF type, spectral sensitivity was observed to be 8.7 nm/μL, with an optical power sensitivity of 0.4 dB/μL. This pioneering fiber-optic thrombosis sensor has the potential for in situ applications, healthcare, medical monitoring, harsh environments, and chemical and biological sensing. The study underscores the scope of optical technology in thrombus detection, establishing a platform for future medical research and application.
Complex clinical procedures and small-animal research procedures can benefit from dual-site imaging provided by multiple endoscopic devices. Here, an endoscopic system is proposed which enables multiple fluorescence microendoscopes to be spectrally multiplexed on a single microscope base, enabling light sources and optical relays to be shared between endoscopes. The presented system is characterized for resolution using USAF-1951 resolution test charts and for modulation transfer function using the slanted edge method. Imaging is demonstrated both directly and with microendoscopes attached. Imaging of phantoms was demonstrated by targeting USAF charts and fiber tissues dyed for FITC and Texas Red fluorescence. Afterwards, simultaneous liver and kidney imaging was demonstrated in mice expressing mitochondrial Dendra2 and injected with Texas Red-dextran. The results indicate that the system achieves high channel isolation and submicron and subcellular resolution, with resolution limited by the endoscopic probe and by physiological movement during endoscopic imaging. Multi-channel microendoscopy provides a potentially low-cost means of simultaneous multiple endoscopic imaging during biological experiments, resulting in reduced animal harm and potentially increasing insight into temporal connections between connected biological systems.
We developed an imaging technique combining two-photon computed super-resolution microscopy and suction-based stabilization to achieve the resolution of the single-cell level and organelles in vivo. To accomplish this, a conventional two-photon microscope was equipped with a 3D-printed holders, which stabilize the tissue surface within the focal plane of immersion objectives. Further computational image stabilization and noise reduction were applied, followed by super-resolution radial fluctuations (SRRF) analysis, doubling image resolution, and enhancing signal-to-noise ratios for in vivo subcellular process investigation. Stabilization of < 1 µm was obtained by suction, and < 25 nm were achieved by subsequent algorithmic image stabilization. A Mito-Dendra2 mouse model, expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in mitochondria, demonstrated the potential of long-term intravital subcellular imaging. In vivo mitochondrial fission and fusion, mitochondrial status migration, and the effects of alcohol consumption (modeled as an alcoholic liver disease) and berberine treatment on hepatocyte mitochondrial dynamics are directly observed intravitally. Suction-based stabilization in two-photon intravital imaging, coupled with computational super-resolution holds promise for advancing in vivo subcellular imaging studies.