Laser Systems developed for cancer cell detection

Nowadays researchers develop a totally new type of laser system that allows the detection and killing of tumor cells from the outside of the shin. Thus, preventing cancer cells from spreading to other parts of the body through the blood. Despite the fact that this laser device is still far from becoming a commercial diagnostic tool, the laser systems demonstrate sensitivity of up to 1,000 times higher than traditional techniques used to find tumor cells in the blood.

Importance of the novel System development

It should be noted that generally blood samples are taken to test cancer spread. However, quite often these tests cannot detect tumor cells even if they are present in a single sample, particularly, in the early form of cancer. That is why the detection of the cell by a laser system plays a crucial role. It is often too late to make effective treatment of patients since cell detection was late.

The novel laser technology is a non-invasive method of cancer cell detection that enables the examination of larger quantities of blood with a greater level of sensitivity. Firstly, such a laser system was tested in the lab, then on animals, and recently brought to clinical trials in humans.

The principle of the laser technology operation is based on the use of light pulses produced by a laser beam on the outside of the skin to heat up cells in the blood. Herewith, the laser beam affects only melanoma cells — not healthy ones — because of a dark pigment (melanin) absorbing the light located in these cells. Also, the laser system uses an ultrasound technique for the detection of the teensy, tiny waves emitted by this heating effect.

Results of the newly developed Laser Systems

Thus, 28 light-skinned patients who had melanoma and 19 healthy volunteers who didn’t have melanoma tested the laser system technology. To be precise, doctors shone the laser beam onto the patients’ hands and detected that within 10 seconds to 60 minutes, the laser system could find cancer cells in 27 out of 28 cases.

The laser device didn’t demonstrate any false positives on the healthy patients, and the laser did not provoke safety concerns or side effects. Moreover, laser technology does not harm the skin where cells produce melanin naturally. The main reason for it depends on the laser beam light that affects a relatively large area on the skin, so it is not focused enough on the skin to damage these cells.

An additional benefit of the developed laser system includes fewer circulating tumor cells after the treatment, in spite of the fact that the researchers’ purpose was diagnosing rather than treating cancer, nevertheless, the laser beam seemed able to kill the cancer cells even at the low energy. The future aim of laser technology research is its development to identify circulating tumor cells released by cancers other than melanoma as well as in people with darker skin.

Optromix is a fast-growing fiber laser manufacturer and a vendor of optical fiber sensors and optical monitoring systems. The company offers fast turnkey solutions and creates sophisticated fiber laser systems for special purposes. Optromix uses only its own technologies and develops a broad variety of fiber lasers. If you have any questions or would like to buy a laser system, please contact us at info@optromix.com

Laser system that allows detecting enemies by their heartbeat

Laser Systems detect enemies by the heartbeatIt is a well-known fact that every person on the Earth is unique, that is why they have unique fingerprints and even a unique heartbeat. This unique characteristic has become a concept to the US military’s newest identification device based on the laser system.

To be more precise, the US Department of Defense uses laser system technology to design an infrared laser module that allows detecting enemy combatants from a distance by scanning their heartbeats. The principle of the laser system device is based on the process of laser vibrometry or non-contact vibration measurements to identify the movement of the surface evoked by a person’s heartbeat.

It should be noted that the improved laser technology is not a novel one, the laser device is the development of the existing technology that includes the use of already available tools for measuring vibrations in distant structures such as wind turbines. The researchers from the US Department of Defense confirm that the designed laser system can penetrate clothing and reach a positive detection about 95% of the time from up to 200 meters (650 feet) away, herewith, the presented laser technology is not limited and can be extended in the nearest future.

Of course, the opportunity to use such a laser device from space remains unreal but longer distances are possible. Additionally, this laser technology is considered to be still in its early stages because the laser system is not able to penetrate thick clothing yet and it is required that a person sit or stand in one place for it to operate (about 30 seconds for reading begins).

One more challenge is the necessity to create a cardiac signature database as well as other various biometric identification techniques ranging from facial recognition to retinal scans. Despite the fact that this laser product is not ideal and requires some improvements, cardiac signature identification provides more benefits than some conventional identification techniques, so it is impossible to change someone’s heartbeat as face or fingerprints can.

It was planned to combine the laser technology with other identification techniques creating a possibility to measure the unique characteristic of cardiac signatures at a distance, thus, the laser system offers additional biometric identification when environmental conditions and changes in facial appearance remain inefficient.

Optromix is a fast-growing fiber laser manufacturer and a vendor of optical fiber sensors and optical monitoring systems. The company offers fast turnkey solutions and creates sophisticated fiber laser systems for special purposes. Optromix uses only its own technologies and develops a broad variety of fiber lasers. If you have any questions or would like to buy a laser system, please contact us at info@optromix.com

Laser technology for military applications

Laser Technology for military applicationsNowadays U.S. Army Infantry receives high threats, while they advance through wooded, rocky terrain to maneuver to contact and “close with the enemy” resulting in facing the most incoming fire of any army unit. This is the main reason why the U.S. Army needs additional protection. The application of laser technology is considered to be a possible solution to the problem.

To be more precise, modern laser technologies can be implemented for the use of pre-shot detection, which means that such laser systems embedded in Army weapons would allow identifying enemy weapons before they are fired. The laser system can detect an optical part of a weapon (glass) directed at a military servant. It should be noted that such an opportunity for laser technology to see a person and detect a shot threat provides a great benefit.

Thus, according to researchers, the laser system technology allows soldiers to find their enemies without first being fired upon, leading to saving human lives and changing military tactics. Nevertheless, these portable laser system emitters are still in development. Herewith, the developed laser technology should be used along with the Army’s existing Rapid Target Acquisition system that applies wireless data links to connect night vision goggles with rifle weapons sights.

Additionally, the application of such laser devices by military servants offers numerous new combat benefits. For example, laser system weapons are used both as an offensive weapon and a “detector” capable of finding targets. Herein, there are scalable laser devices, which means that they are able to collect several laser beams or fire in more narrow configurations offering various options.

The application of the defensive laser system for detection may include soldier-fired offensive laser module weapons. The laser beams are very rapid (they travel at the speed of light), moreover, the laser devices are highly quiet. Therefore, it is possible to fire silently, allowing military servants not to give up their position.

In spite of the fact that weapons based on laser technology are in development stages, they are already used in the following fields of laser application: firing laser devices for army strykers, the weapons system for the Navy, ground-testing laser weapons for the Air Force. A potential application of the laser system includes missile defense and armed drones engineered for space flight.

The use of laser technologies for military purposes has several developmental challenges. The thing is that mobile power sources are required for laser systems to operate, also portable laser devices pose some technical challenges which are necessary to be improved.

Optromix is a fast-growing fiber laser manufacturer and a vendor of optical fiber sensors and optical monitoring systems. The company offers fast turnkey solutions and creates sophisticated fiber laser systems for special purposes. Optromix uses only its technologies and develops a broad variety of fiber lasers. If you have any questions or would like to buy a laser system, please contact us at info@optromix.com

Organic fiber laser systems enlarge their applications

Organic Fiber Laser Systems and their applicationsAccording to the last research, now it has become possible to design accessible laser systems that are able to emit laser beams of a wide range of colors resulting in new fields of applications from communications and sensing systems to displays. Thus, researchers from Japan have developed an optically pumped organic thin-film laser module that allows continuously producing laser beam light for 30 ms that is about 100 times longer than previously used laser devices.

Compared to conventional inorganic laser systems (used in CD drives and laser pointers), the principle of organic thin-film laser module’s operation is based on a thin layer of organic molecules as the laser medium that emits laser beams by producing and intensifying light during the excitement of an energy source. Herewith, an intense ultraviolet laser beam light from an inorganic laser system is regarded as the energy source.

Additionally, the organic laser system is highly potential because it offers such an advantage as the opportunity to more easily reach colors that are virtually impossible with inorganic laser devices. It should be noted that “by designing and synthesizing molecules with new structures, laser beam emission of any color of the rainbow is possible.” Although organic thin-film laser systems have been studied for a long time, such features as degradation and loss processes have significantly restricted the duration of laser beam emission.

Nonetheless, the researchers succeeded to overcome the mentioned challenges and enlarge the duration of the laser system process by unifying three strategies:

  • The use of an organic fiber laser medium with triplet excitons that absorb various colors of laser beam light than that produced by the laser system to decrease main losses originating from the absorption of emission by packets of energy.
  • The problem of thermal degradation is solved by manufacturing the laser devices on a crystalline silicon wafer and gluing a piece of sapphire glass on top of the organic laser system medium with a special polymer. The thing is that the silicon and sapphire material, applied in the organic thin-film laser module, are considered to be good heat conductors that reduce the heat level in the laser devices.
  • The strategy of optimization of a frequently used grating structure or mixed-order distributed feedback structure installed under the organic laser system medium to achieve optical feedback, the input energy required to keep the laser devices allows reducing to new lows.

These laser systems can be used in extreme environments, that is why searching for new laser techniques to take away any inefficiencies and prevent laser devices from overheating. Moreover, the combination of the organic laser modules with inorganic ones enables the production of colors that are difficult to create by employing a conventional type of lasers, with applications in process spectroscopy, communications, displays, and sensing systems.

Optromix is a fast-growing fiber laser manufacturer and a vendor of optical fiber sensors and optical monitoring systems. The company offers fast turnkey solutions and creates sophisticated fiber laser systems for special purposes. Optromix uses only its technologies and develops a broad variety of fiber lasers. If you have any questions or would like to buy a laser system, please contact us at info@optromix.com