Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • Educational Assets
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

New Laser Gets to the Heart of Imaging

By R&D Editors | April 14, 2016

The image on the left shows speckle-free imaging with low-coherence illumination, producing structural images of a tadpole heart. On the right, an image of spatially-resolved speckle contrast, calculated from speckled images.  Yale scientists have developed a laser imaging system with the versatility to look at both the structure of biological tissue and the dynamic activity—such as a heartbeat or the movement of blood cells—that goes on inside.

The new laser is a significant advance for multimodal imaging, the researchers noted. In one mode, the laser images structural information by reducing the amount of “speckle,” a random, grainy pattern that can corrupt the formation of images. Speckle is often found in the light emitted by traditional lasers that conduct high-speed imaging.

Yet speckle also carries additional information that can be useful for biological imaging. Moving blood cells, for example, can be mapped in living tissue by analyzing changes in the speckle pattern.

The new laser system is able to do imaging in both modes. It is mechanically compact and supports continuous-wave—rather than pulsed—emission. It toggles between modes thanks to a semiconductor element, while maintaining high-output power.

The Yale team reported its findings in the journal Optica.

“To illustrate its application to multimodal imaging, we used the laser to image the heartbeat of a living tadpole,” said Hui Cao, a professor of applied physics and of physics at Yale and corresponding author of the study. The laser was able to record the heart’s structures and the pumping of blood within those structures, Cao said.

Co-author Michael A. Choma, assistant professor of diagnostic radiology, pediatrics, and biomedical engineering, explained that the relationship between structure and function is fundamental to the study of biology. It is particularly true when studying micro-scale motions and flows within living tissue, he noted.

“This laser has a novel combination of properties that we didn’t have before in a reliable way,” Choma said.

Related Articles Read More >

How IBM’s quantum architecture could design materials physics can’t yet explain
White House fast-tracks nuclear R&D while mandating ‘gold standard science’
LLNL deposits quantum dots on corrugated IR chips in a single step
Aardvark AI forecasts rival supercomputer simulations while using over 99.9% less compute
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • Educational Assets
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE