Mobile infrared slit-light scanner for rapid eye disease screening.

Purpose: Timely detection and treatment of visual impairments and age-related eye diseases are essential for maintaining a longer, healthier life. However, the shortage of appropriate medical equipment often impedes early detection. We have developed a portable self-imaging slit-light device utilizing NIR light and a scanning mirror. The objective of our study is to assess the accuracy and compare the performance of our device with conventional nonportable slit-lamp microscopes and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) for screening and remotely diagnosing eye diseases, such as cataracts and glaucoma, outside of an eye clinic. Approach: The NIR light provides an advantage as measurements are nonmydriatic and less traumatic for patients. A cross-sectional study involving Japanese adults was conducted. Cataract evaluation was performed using photographs captured by the device. Van-Herick grading was assessed by the ratio of peripheral anterior chamber depth to peripheral corneal thickness, in addition to the iridocorneal angle using Image J software. Results: The correlation coefficient between values obtained by AS-OCT, and our fabricated portable scanning slit-light device was notably high. The results indicate that our portable device is equally reliable as the conventional nonportable slit-lamp microscope and AS-OCT for screening and evaluating eye diseases. Conclusions: Our fabricated device matches the functionality of the traditional slit lamp, offering a cost-effective and portable solution. Ideal for remote locations, healthcare facilities, or areas affected by disasters, our scanning slit-light device can provide easy access to initial eye examinations and supports digital eye healthcare initiatives.

Guardians of the Gut: Harnessing the Power of Probiotic Microbiota and Their Exopolysaccharides to Mitigate Heavy Metal Toxicity in Human for Better Health.

Heavy metal pollution is a significant global health concern, posing risks to both the environment and human health. Exposure to heavy metals happens through various channels like contaminated water, food, air, and workplaces, resulting in severe health implications. Heavy metals also disrupt the gut's microbial balance, leading to dysbiosis characterized by a decrease in beneficial microorganisms and proliferation in harmful ones, ultimately exacerbating health problems. Probiotic microorganisms have demonstrated their ability to adsorb and sequester heavy metals, while their exopolysaccharides (EPS) exhibit chelating properties, aiding in mitigating heavy metal toxicity. These beneficial microorganisms aid in restoring gut integrity through processes like biosorption, bioaccumulation, and biotransformation of heavy metals. Incorporating probiotic strains with high affinity for heavy metals into functional foods and supplements presents a practical approach to mitigating heavy metal toxicity while enhancing gut health. Utilizing probiotic microbiota and their exopolysaccharides to address heavy metal toxicity offers a novel method for improving human health through modulation of the gut microbiome. By combining probiotics and exopolysaccharides, a distinctive strategy emerges for mitigating heavy metal toxicity, highlighting promising avenues for therapeutic interventions and health improvements. Further exploration in this domain could lead to groundbreaking therapies and preventive measures, underscoring probiotic microbiota and exopolysaccharides as natural and environmentally friendly solutions to heavy metal toxicity. This, in turn, could enhance public health by safeguarding the gut from environmental contaminants.

Micromirror with large-tilting angle using Fe-based metallic glass.

For enhancing the micromirror properties like tilting angle and stability during actuation, Fe-based metallic glass (MG) was applied for torsion bar material. A micromirror with mirror-plate diameter of 900 µm and torsion bar dimensions length 250 µm, width 30 µm and thickness 2.5 µm was chosen for the tilting angle tests, which were performed by permanent magnets and electromagnet setup. An extremely large tilting angle of over -270° was obtained from an activation test by permanent magnet that has approximately 0.2 T of magnetic strength. A large mechanical tilting angle of over -70° was obtained by applying approximately 1.1 mT to the mirror when 93 mAwas applied to solenoid setup. The large-tilting angle of the micromirror is due to the torsion bar, which was fabricated with Fe-based MG thin film that has large elastic strain limit, fracture toughness, and excellent magnetic property.

MEMS-based wearable eyeglasses for eye health monitoring.

A large number of world population suffer from vision related diseases/defects. Visual health supervision is important for detection, prevention and treatment of eyes disorders. Images of retina/fundus are important for diagnosis of eye diseases. In this paper we report on design and development of a wearable eyeglass type retinal imaging system using a 2D MEMS scanner for ocular health monitoring. Several wearability criteria for instance weight and size factor should be taken into account while designing a wearable health monitoring system. The 2D-MEMS scanner used in the system is small in size, that helps to fabricate an easy to use and lightweight wearable imaging device. The net weight of fabricated system including optical components is 150 g. Sensitivity of the system was estimated by measuring the signal-to-noise ratio for high and low reflectance materials. Signal-to-noise ratio was 7 for high reflectance material and about 4 for biological samples. Imaging results were obtained by scanning a model eye, ham slice and enucleated swine eye in real time by custom made LabVIEW program. The fabricated system has adequate sensitivity and resolution for the observation of retinal arteries and optic disc for detection of eye diseases.

Nano-fabrication with metallic glass-an exotic material for nano-electromechanical systems.

Completely glassy thin films of Zr-Al-Cu-Ni exhibiting a large supercooled liquid region (DeltaT(x) = 95 K), very smooth surface (R(a) = 0.2 nm) and high value of Vickers hardness (H(v) = 940) were deposited by sputtering. The micro/nano-patterning ability of these films is demonstrated by focused ion beam etching (smallest pattern approximately 12 nm), as well as by the imprint lithography technique (smallest feature approximately 34 nm). These glassy films having very good mechanical and chemical properties, combined with superb nano-patterning ability, integrateable with silicon integrated circuit technology, are promising for fabrication of a wide range of two- or three-dimensional components for future nano-electromechanical systems.

Metallic glass thin films for potential biomedical applications.

We introduce metallic glass thin films (TiCuNi) as biocompatible materials for biomedical applications. TiCuNi metallic glass thin films were deposited on the Si substrate and their structural, surface, and mechanical properties were investigated. The fabricated films showed good biocompatibility upon exposure to muscle cells. Also, they exhibited an average roughness of <0.2 nm, high wear resistance, and high mechanical properties (hardness ∼6.9 GPa and reduced modulus ∼130 GPa). Top surface of the TiCuNi films was shown to be free from Ni and mainly composed of a thin titanium oxide layer, which resulted in the high surface biocompatibility. In particular, there was no cytotoxicity effect of metallic glass films on the C2C12 myoblasts and the cells were able to proliferate well on these substrates. Low cost, viscoelastic behavior, patternability, high electrical conductivity, and the capability to coat various materials (e.g., nonbiocompatible materials) make TiCuNi as an attractive material for biomedical applications.