Neuroscience loves biooptics!

Normally, perusing the conference program is a good way to tell whether a trade show is a good match for your interests. If your interests are in biooptics and biophotonics, though, looking at the Neuroscience 2008 (Washington, DC, November 15-19) program would not have been a reliable indicator of relevance. There was nary a mention of technologies in the session descriptions—but the show floor was positively bursting with photonics and optics companies, both component suppliers and instrumentation vendors. That’s certainly not true of all biomedical industry events, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Normally, perusing the conference program is a good way to tell whether a trade show is a good match for your interests. If your interests are in biooptics, though, looking at the Neuroscience 2008 (Washington, DC, November 15-19) program would not have been a reliable indicator of relevance. There was nary a mention of technologies in the session descriptions—but the show floor was positively bursting with photonics and optics companies, both component suppliers and instrumentation vendors. That’s certainly not true of all biomedical industry events, so I was pleasantly surprised.

My picks for show highlights:

Lockheed Martin Aculight, which promoted its Capella infrared nerve stimulator.

Olympus showcased its FSX100 Bio Imaging Navigator all-in-one microscope system among other products that address both ends of the microscopy spectrum and cater to either the high-end user or novice microscopists.

Carl Zeiss MicroImaging made a splash by announcing four new fluorescence imaging systems, saying these additions make its family of optical sectioning microscopes the largest on the market. Zeiss also used Neuroscience 2008 to launch an educational website in collaboration with Florida State University, which intends to be a "comprehensive and independent resource to learn about the latest techniques in fluorescence imaging."

Both Zeiss and Visage Imaging showcased software working on autostereoscopic (meaning no need for red-and-blue glasses or other eyewear/headgear!) interactive 3D displays by Tridelity, which uses a parallax barrier to produce a two-view, head-tracked display for single-viewer systems or a multiview display that supports multiple viewers.

And Nikon and Thorlabs announced their collaboration to bring optical coherence tomography (OCT) to Nikon's FN1 "PhysioStation" microscope system for neurophysiology and in vivo, small-animal studies.

More information:
Tridelity

OCT at AAO: faster, broader

At the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting 2008, which concluded last week in Atlanta, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was well represented both in the conference program (with several sessions dedicated to the topic and several more touching on it) and in the exhibit hall. Bioptigen, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Heidelberg, OPKO, Optopol, Optovue, and Topcon all exhibited -- most with large booths. Canon joined the OCT crowd too, demonstrating the use of its technology with Optopol's OCT system, so Optopol got double the exposure with Canon’s exhibit. Nidek wasn’t talking about its rumored OCT offering, but I’m guessing that company will release a system within a year. Of course the exhibitors emphasized eye care, but there was talk among some of OCT for other disciplines, including non-biomedical applications such as manufacturing.

At the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting 2008, which concluded last week in Atlanta, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was well represented both in the conference program (with several sessions dedicated to the topic and several more touching on it) and in the exhibit hall. Bioptigen, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Heidelberg, OPKO, Optopol, Optovue, and Topcon all exhibited -- most with large booths. Canon joined the OCT crowd too, demonstrating the use of its technology with Optopol's OCT system, so Optopol got double the exposure with Canon’s exhibit. Nidek wasn’t talking about its rumored OCT offering, but I’m guessing that company will release a system within a year. Of course the exhibitors emphasized eye care, but there was talk among some of OCT for other disciplines, including non-biomedical applications such as manufacturing.

A 2-1/2 hour OCT session that required additional payment drew an audience of more than 200. When the moderator asked how many attendees currently have OCT systems, most raised their hands—and about 25% indicated they own spectral domain (Fourier domain) OCT systems. Not surprisingly, most of the attendees are focused on retinal applications, but about 15% or so use OCT for corneal work.

An overview of OCT emphasized the speed difference between the older time domain systems and the new breed of spectral/Fourier domain units -- but it was noted that the real bottleneck these days for OCT is computer processing time. That’s why last week’s announcement by Texas Instruments is so exciting; TI’s new embedded processors specifically target medical imaging.

Barraquer Award presented during excimer laser 25th anniversary

It’s been 25 years since the first clinical application of the excimer laser to correct astigmatism, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is marking the milestone today with a special “25th Anniversary of the Excimer Laser” symposium during its 2008 annual meeting in Atlanta (November 7-12).

It’s been 25 years since the first clinical application of the excimer laser to correct astigmatism, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is marking the milestone today with a special “25th Anniversary of the Excimer Laser” symposium during its 2008 annual meeting in Atlanta (November 7-12).

The symposium, actually a joint meeting of the AAO’s International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS/AAO) and the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), will feature Steven Trokel MD, who patented the excimer laser for vision correction in 1983, and other instrumental figures describing progression of the hardware, algorithms, and procedures—from the beginning through the future.

The symposium will conclude with the Barraquer Lecture, “Corneal surgery is refractive surgery,” given by the 2007 winner of the annual Barraquer Award Medal, Roger F Steinert MD -- and then presentation of the 2008 medal. The award, named for Jose Ignacio Barraquer (1916-1998), the inventor of refractive keratoplasty in 1949.

The 2008 winner is Jorge L. Alió, MD, PhD, Profesor and Chairman of Ophthalmology at Miguel Hernández University (Alicante, Spain).

More information
American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting 2008

Spectroscopy has growth in hand

Today’s announcement by Ahura Scientific corroborates comments that Andrew Whitley, a VP at Horiba Jobin-Yvon made earlier this week during SPIE’s Spectroscopy Technology + Applications conference. Presenting a breakdown of market share, Whitley noted that Ahura has acquired 10% share since it launched its first product just three years ago. Such growth, said Whitley, is all because of the increased need for portable and handheld spectrometers. That market segment is 25% at the moment, but growing 23% CAGR, he explained.

Today’s announcement by Ahura Scientific corroborates comments that Andrew Whitley, a VP at Horiba Jobin-Yvon made earlier this week during SPIE’s Spectroscopy Technology + Applications conference. Presenting a breakdown of market share, Whitley noted that Ahura has acquired 10% share since it launched its first product just three years ago. This growth, said Whitley, is all because of the increased need for portable and handheld spectrometers--a market segment that is 25% at the moment, but growing 23% CAGR.

Whitley also discussed the “huge potential for Raman” spectroscopy in the biomedical market—though he said the realization of that potential is probably still 15 to 20 years off.

William Yang, CEO of BaySpec, which also made an interesting announcement this week concerning portable spectroscopy, defined “portable” instrumentation as units that you can carry with two hands, and “handheld” devices as those that require only one hand for transport.

More information:
SPIE’s Spectroscopy Technology + Applications
Horiba Jobin-Yvon spectroscopy

Lasers come home for Christmas

CBS News recently profiled Erin Elmore, a 30-year-old Philadelphia lawyer, who recently tested a do-it-yourself laser hair-removal system, and now calls the device her new best friend.

The device she tested, Tria by Tria Beauty (Pleasanton, CA) is one of a new crop of at-home laser devices; Home Skinovations’ (Toronto, Ontario) Silk'n is another. The units are priced less than $1000, and are available through doctors’ offices and medical spas.

Now, Quasar Light Therapy (Sarasota, FL) has announced the retail launch of its consumer laser product, an anti-aging/ skin-rejuvenation system, Baby Quasar, which reportedly sells for less than $400.

CBS News recently profiled Erin Elmore, a 30-year-old Philadelphia lawyer, who recently tested a do-it-yourself laser hair-removal system, and now calls the device her new best friend.

The device she tested, Tria by Tria Beauty (Pleasanton, CA) is one of a new crop of at-home laser devices; Home Skinovations’ (Toronto, Ontario) Silk'n is another. The units are priced less than $1000, and are available through doctors’ offices and medical spas.

Now, Quasar Light Therapy (Sarasota, FL) has announced the retail launch of its consumer laser product, an anti-aging/ skin-rejuvenation system, Baby Quasar, which reportedly sells for less than $400. Introduced in 2007, it has been sold to consumers through the Internet and catalogs previously, and will be available in Dillard’s department stores beginning in November (that is, as early as tomorrow).

The New York Times published an article last summer that had medical doctors questioning such devices, but, I suspect Baby Quasar will benefit from the upward-trending concern for appearance demonstrated by an article that ran this week in news outlets across the nation, “Economic Update: You Should Invest (in Your Appearance).”

Admittedly, impressive percentage growth is not unusual for a young company, but according to Quasar Light Therapy president Peter Nesbitt, “We anticipate our triple digit growth to continue with the introduction of new technology in the first half of 2009."

More information:
CBS News report

New York Times article

Economic Update: You Should Invest (in Your Appearance) in Denver Business Journal

Quasar Light Therapy’s Baby Quasar

Big names in bio at FiO

I knew I’d find some interesting things at the OSA’s Frontiers in Optics event last week, but I actually found much more than I expected. Two of the conference tracks were mainly dedicated to bio topics, and beyond that, several other presentations also also focused on bio. For instance, James Fujimoto of MIT, widely recognized for his invention and application of optical coherence tomography (OCT), presented on the use of OCT for biomedical applications as part of a tribute to Dr. Howard Schlossberg of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

I knew I’d find some interesting things at the OSA’s Frontiers in Optics event last week, but I actually found much more than I expected. Two of the conference tracks were mainly dedicated to bio topics, and beyond that, several other presentations also also focused on bio. For instance, renowned scientist James Fujimoto of MIT, widely recognized for his invention and application of optical coherence tomography (OCT), presented on the use of OCT for biomedical applications as part of a tribute to Dr. Howard Schlossberg of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Among other “big names” in biomedical optics attending the event was OSA president-elect Dr. Tom Baer, who is Executive Director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center at Stanford University and co-founder of Arcturus Bioscience, Inc. And also Dr. Robert R. Alfano, Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering at City University of New York, and director of the Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers. At the time, Prof. Alfano was preparing the webcast that he presented yesterday along with Dr. Stavros Demos of Lawrence Livermore National Lab and UC Davis, called Key secrets of biospectroscopy. We’ve gotten very positive response on the webcast, by the way, so check it out if you’ve got an interest in the spectroscopy for cancer detection and other life sciences work. (Just click the “register” button and you’ll be able to view or download the whole presentation or just an MP3 audio file.)

Prof. Alfano shared with me some great stories of his career, which I’ll highlight in the November/December issue. (Did you know that his discovery of the ultrafast supercontinuum light source was an accident?)

More information:
"Key secrets of biospectroscopy" webcast
OSA’s Frontiers in Optics 2008
Dr. Howard Schlossberg bio

FiO 08 emphasizes biomed research

I’m looking forward to next week’s Frontiers in Optics 2008 (Oct. 19-23, Rochester, NY), which is the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Optical Society (OSA). The event is logically co-located with Laser Science XXIV, the annual meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Laser Science). It will be tough to split my time between the exhibit hall and the numerous conference sessions describing optics advances for medical research -- which the conference organizers are clearly emphasizing. Here’s a quick look at five of those presentations:

I’m looking forward to next week’s Frontiers in Optics 2008 (Oct. 19-23, Rochester, NY), which is the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Optical Society (OSA). The event is logically co-located with Laser Science XXIV, the annual meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Laser Science). It will be tough to split my time between the exhibit hall and the numerous conference sessions describing optics advances for medical research -- which the conference organizers are clearly emphasizing. Here’s a quick look at five of those presentations:

1. Presentation FTuD3, Optical Intraoperative Measurement of Function in the Human Brain, (Tuesday, Oct. 21, 9:15 a.m.), will discuss how Paul Hoy and colleagues at the University of Southampton in England are developing a rapid and highly sensitive light-reflectance method for measuring brain function across the entire area during surgery. The team got good results when they evaluated their approach on four people undergoing brain surgery; they are now collecting data that will lead to a clinical trial.

2. Another presentation taking place at the same time will describe new optical techniques that may facilitate study of the link between altered blood flow and Alzheimer's disease (FTuE4, Femtosecond Laser-Induced Microvascular Clots Trigger Alzheimer's Disease Pathology, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 9:15 a.m). Chris Schaffer and colleagues at Cornell University use tightly focused femtosecond lasers to introduce clots in the microvasculature in the brains of rodents. The laser cuts open the cells lining the blood vessels, triggering clotting and leading to occlusion formation. Schaffer and his colleagues plan to systematically study the effect of these clots on the cognitive decline of the Alzheimer's mice.

3. Schaffer, by the way, is advisor to Cornell doctoral candidate John Nguyen, who has developed an animal model for looking at the effect of small strokes in the tiny venules in the brains of rodents. They are using a laser and nonlinear optics to target and clot vessels of the venule system and then monitor the effect on blood flow in upstream capillaries in the brain. (FTuE3, Femtosecond Laser-Driven Photodisruption to Induce Single Venule Occlusions in Rodent Brain, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 9 a.m).

4. Later that morning, researchers from the University of Michigan will reveal an optical method to detect pancreatic cancer in patients at early stages -- an advance that could greatly improve the chances of patient surviva. They are using a multimodal optical spectroscopy approach to observe reflectance and fluorescence properties of pancreatic tissue samples. Spectral analysis has shown significant differences between normal, pancreatitis (inflammation) and cancerous tissues, thus suggesting non-invasive diagnostic possibilities. That work is described in presentation FTuK5, Modeling Reflectance and Fluorescence Spectra of Human Pancreatic Tissues for Cancer Diagnostics, (Tuesday, Oct. 21, 11:30 a.m.).

5. And while the conference will feature plenty more bio research, here’s the last one I’ll cover here: University of Indiana researchers will explain a new technique using near-infrared light that allows them to see blood flow within all capillaries of the light sensitive tissues in the retina at the back of the eye (FWW6, Constructing Human Retinal Capillary Maps from Adaptive Optics SLO Imaging, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 5:15 p.m.) This patient-friendly alternative to the current unpleasant diagnostic method relies on adaptive optics combined with a confocal scanning laser opthalmoscope.

I hope to see you at the show!

More information:
Frontiers in Optics 2008

WMIC 2008’s 3 key themes (bench to bedside is one!)

The title of the opening keynote address at the 2008 World Molecular Imaging Congress (the Society for Molecular Imaging’s annual meeting), “Advances in Molecular Imaging from bench to bedside,” articulated one of three key themes of the meeting: Translation of preclinical work to clinical.


The title of the opening keynote address at the 2008 World Molecular Imaging Congress (the Society for Molecular Imaging’s annual meeting), “Advances in Molecular Imaging from bench to bedside,” articulated one of three key themes of the meeting: Translation of preclinical work to clinical.

“The promise of molecular imaging is to provide an uninterrupted flow of technologies from in-vitro microscopy, in-vivo animal imaging to clinical phenotyping of disease and image guided therapeutic interventions,” said keynote speaker Dr. Markus Schwaiger, Nuklearmedizinische Klinik und Poliklinik (Munich, Germany). Dr. Schwaiger discussed the advancement of molecular imaging, including probe development, which he said has become quite sophisticated as both a diagnostic tool and a method of therapy selection, “especially in the area of optical imaging,” he said. And indeed, probe development was another key theme of the conference.

Then Dr. Schwaiger went on to discuss the third major topics of the conference: multimodal imaging. “Optical imaging is now limited,” he said, but said that situation is changing. He pointed to multispectral optoacoustic tomography as an example, and encouraged the audience to remember a time when PET was the only game in town. “Today you cannot even buy a PET-only system,” he said, noting that PET/CT is now standard.

McCain, too, addresses "the quiet crisis"

Thank you Senator McCain for joining Senator Obama in answering ScienceDebate.com’s "14 top science questions facing America." (See my earlier post on the organization’s efforts and BioOptics World’s own reporting on the candidates’ science and technology positions.)

Thank you Senator McCain for joining Senator Obama in answering ScienceDebate.com’s "14 top science questions facing America." (See my earlier post on the organization’s efforts and BioOptics World’s own reporting on the candidates’ science and technology positions.)

Thanks too to Senator Obama, who earlier heeded the request—but thanks mostly to ScienceDebate.com for encouraging this important discussion among the presidential contenders. The group has done a nice job of setting up the answers of the two presidential hopefuls side by side so that you can easily compare. Further, ScienceDebate.com has invited both nominees to participate in a televised forum to cover vital issues in front of a broader audience.

With all the urgencies currently facing America, it may be easy to lose sight of the issue that Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, so aptly called “the quiet crisis” in her 2005 speech, The Quiet Crisis and the Future of American Competitiveness. We do so at our peril, though, and ScienceDebate.com is working to spread that message beyond the scientific community already well aware.

Obama answers “top 14 science questions”

"For the last 60 years, science and engineering have been responsible for half the growth in the U.S. economy,” says Shawn Lawrence Otto, CEO of Science Debate 2008. “But some reports suggest that by 2010, 90% of all scientists and engineers will live in Asia.” That fact inspired formation of the nonpartisan citizens’ initiative, which hopes to make key science issues a larger part of America’s political dialogue. To this end, ScienceDebate2008.com developed its “top 14 science questions facing America” and invited presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. Senator Obama has answered the call.

"For the last 60 years, science and engineering have been responsible for half the growth in the U.S. economy,” says Shawn Lawrence Otto, CEO of Science Debate 2008. “But some reports suggest that by 2010, 90% of all scientists and engineers will live in Asia. Asian countries are now graduating 10 times the number of scientists and engineers the U.S. is.”

That fact inspired formation of the nonpartisan citizens’ initiative, which hopes to make key science issues a larger part of America’s political dialogue -- including the current presidential election. To this end, ScienceDebate2008.com developed its “top 14 science questions facing America” and invited presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.

Senator Obama has answered the call.

“Most of America’s major unsolved challenges revolve around these 14 questions. To move America forward, the next president needs a substantive plan for tackling them going in, and voters deserve to know what that plan is,” says Otto.

“We’re pleased that Senator Obama has provided voters with that substantive plan, and we’re hoping for similarly thoughtful responses from Senator McCain.”

I, too, hope for a response from McCain -- and according to a recent poll by the group, so do most voters. The results indicate that 85% of Americans want the candidates to debate science issues -- and a vast majority “strongly agree” with the necessity of such discussion.

It’s unfortunate that the McCain camp hasn’t answered yet. And I’m not encouraged by the fact that McCain’s campaign was similarly unresponsive to BioOptics World’s “In The Loop” columnist Susan M. Reiss when she called seeking information. (Susan’s article will appear in the Sept/Oct issue, but we’ve posted a preview here.) In fact, while Reiss was able to uncover more details regarding Obama’s views and plans than McCain’s, neither campaign agreed to be interviewed.

C'mon, Senator McCain. Follow Mr. Obama's lead and answer ScienceDebate2008.com. And let this be a start -- not an end -- to the discussion of these important issues.

More information:
Senator Obama’s answers.


If you value ScienceDebate2008.com’s work, consider making a donation to support it.

OCT for cardiac and other apps

In May 2008, Dr. Patrick Serruys at the Thoraxcenter (Rotterdam, Netherlands) became the first to use Volcano's optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging catheter in a human procedure. "We believe that OCT has the potential to identify thin-cap fibro-atheromas, clearly highlight intraluminal thrombus, and assess the complete healing of novel drug-eluting stent designs," said Michel Lussier, president of Volcano Europe.

In May 2008, Dr. Patrick Serruys at the Thoraxcenter (Rotterdam, Netherlands) became the first to use Volcano's optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging catheter in a human procedure. "We believe that OCT has the potential to identify thin-cap fibro-atheromas, clearly highlight intraluminal thrombus, and assess the complete healing of novel drug-eluting stent designs,” said Michel Lussier, president of Volcano Europe.

And even more recently, Axsun Technologies, which develops and manufactures photonic components and subsystems, announced its entry into a multi-million dollar volume purchasing agreement with LightLab Imaging, maker of OCT systems. Under the multi-year exclusive deal, Axsun will provide advanced tunable lasers for LightLab's next generation cardiac OCT imaging system.

Although the first commercial application of OCT -- ophthalmology -- is expected to remain dominant through 2011 (according the report Optical Coherence Tomography -- Technology, Markets, and Applications: 2008-2012,), it’s clear that application to cardiology is making important strides. So are other applications, including dentistry. In fact, in April, Axsun made an agreement with Lantis Laser to incorporate Axsun's patented swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology into Lantis' dental imaging systems.

OCT holds promise as well for applications such as cancer detection and dermatology. We recently explored the technology and its life sciences applications in a webcast that is now available for on-demand review. If you’d like insight from doctors pioneering in this arena, check out “Practical applications of OCT,” presented by luminaries Dr. Joseph Izatt, Dr. Stephen Boppart, and Dr. Sanjay Asrani -- who fielded questions from audience members.

Life-sci lessons from LASIK

News that the FDA has cleared Advanced Medical Optics' new iFS Advanced Femtosecond Laser for eye surgery caught my attention because most of the recent news that mentions both FDA and eye surgery involves contention over LASIK, the technology that’s helped scores of people see clearly without glasses or contacts. The dispute centers, of course, not on the remarkable successes -- but on the small percentage of failures.

News that the FDA has cleared Advanced Medical Optics' new iFS Advanced Femtosecond Laser for eye surgery caught my attention because most of the recent news that mentions both FDA and eye surgery involves contention over LASIK, the technology that’s helped scores of people see clearly without glasses or contacts. The dispute centers, of course, not on the remarkable successes -- but on the small percentage of failures.

The debate reminds us that all technology is a double-edged sword. Automobiles are a leading cause of death, but on the whole their advantages outweigh their risks. Thankfully, work has already begun to mitigate LASIK surgery risk. Soon after the controversy began, BioOptics World reported on the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery’s (ASCRS) decision to participate in a post-LASIK quality of life study with the Joint LASIK Study Task Force, which also includes the FDA, the National Eye Institute, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s board of trustees approved a proposal to co-fund the FDA driven study, and the ASCRS Foundation likewise committed funds to support it.

Daniel Schultz, head of the FDA's medical devices center, has said that identifying why complications occurred would help those considering LASIK make more educated choices. Studying these patients is “very, very high on the agency's priority list,” he stated.

Meanwhile, FDA advisers recommended revising the discussion of LASIK on the agency's Web site to make clear the risks, and suggested similarly rewording brochures given to patient-candidates.

Vision correction centers such as Toronto’s Herzig Eye Institute are likewise joining the effort. The institute has developed The Patient Guide to Custom Vision Correction to help patients understand and compare treatment options.

Stay tuned as BioOptics World follows this story -- and the effects of its outcome on the use of laser-based technologies for life sciences work.