Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging (LSCI) is an optical technique used to generate blood flow maps with high spatial and temporal resolution. It is well known that in LSCI, the speckle size must exceed the Nyquist criterion to maximize the speckle's pattern contrast. In this work, we study experimentally the effect of speckle-pixel size ratio not only in dynamic speckle contrast, but also on the calculation of the relative flow speed for temporal and spatial analysis. Our data suggest that the temporal LSCI algorithm is more accurate at assessing the relative changes in flow speed than the spatial algorithm.

In this work, a microfluidic prototype based on polymeric materials was developed to monitor surface processes using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), keeping the reagents free of environmental contamination. The prototype was fabricated on poly(methyl methacrylic acid) (PMMA). A micrometric membrane of a functional organic polymer (FOP) based on p-terphenyl and bromopyruvic acid monomers was formed on the PMMA surface to promote the formation of metal nanoclusters. Au nanosized film was deposited on the FOP membrane to give rise to the SERS effect. A microchannel was formed on another piece of PMMA using micromachining. A representative 3D model of the prototype layer arrangement was built and simulated in COMSOL Multiphysics^® to approximate the electric field distribution and calculate the power enhancement factor as the Au film changes over time. The fabrication process was characterized using UV–visible and Raman spectroscopies and XPS. The prototype was tested using a Raman microscope and liquid solutions of cysteamine and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The simulation results demonstrated that the morphological characteristics of the Au layer give rise to the SERS effect, and the power enhancement factor reaches values as high as 8.8 × 10⁵ on the FOP surface. The characterization results showed the formation of the FOP and the Au film on PMMA and the surface functionalization with amine groups. The Raman spectra of the prototype showed temporal evolution as different compounds were deposited on the upper wall of the microchannel. Characteristic peaks associated with these compounds were detected with continuous monitoring over time. This prototype offers many benefits for applications like monitoring biological processes. Some advantages include timely surface evaluation while avoiding environmental harm, decreased use of reagents and samples, minimal interference with the process by measuring, and detecting microorganisms in just 1 h, as demonstrated with the E. coli sample.

A modified computational model of the human eye was used to obtain and compare different probability density functions, radial profiles of light pattern distributions, and images of the point spread function formed in the human retina under the presence of different kinds of particles inside crystalline lenses suffering from cataracts. Specifically, this work uses simple particles without shells and multilamellar bodies (MLBs) with shells. The emergence of such particles alters the formation of images on the retina. Moreover, the MLBs change over time, which affects properties such as the refractive index of their shell. Hence, this work not only simulates the presence of such particles but also evaluates the incidence of particle parameters such as particle diameter, particle thickness, and shell refractive index, which are set based on reported experimental values. In addition, two wavelengths (400 nm and 700 nm) are used for light passing through the different layers of the computational model. The effects of these parameters on light scattering are analyzed using the simulation results. Further, in these results, the effects of light scattering on image formation can be seen when single particles, early-stage MLBs, or mature MLBs are incorporated in the model. Finally, it is found that particle diameter has the greatest impact on image formation.