Optical-thermal models that can accurately predict temperature rise and damage in blood vessels and surrounding tissue may be used to improve the treatment of vascular disorders. Verification of these models has been hampered by the lack of time- and depth-resolved experimental data. In this preliminary study, an optical coherence tomography system operating at 4-30 frames per second was used t...

Polarization Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography (PS- OCT) was used to image the reduction of birefringence in biological tissue due to thermal damage. Through simultaneous detection of the amplitude of signal fringes in orthogonal polarization states formed by interference of light backscattered from turbid media and a mirror in the reference arm of a Michelson interferometer, changes in th...

Metal nanoshells are a class of nanoparticles with tunable optical resonances. In this article, an application of this technology to thermal ablative therapy for cancer is described. By tuning the nanoshells to strongly absorb light in the near infrared, where optical transmission through tissue is optimal, a distribution of nanoshells at depth in tissue can be used to deliver a therapeutic dos...

The amplification of target DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) produces copies which may contain errors. Two sources of errors are associated with the PCR process: (1) editing errors that occur during DNA polymerase-catalyzed enzymatic copying and (2) errors due to DNA thermal damage. In this study a quantitative model of error frequencies is proposed and the role of reaction conditions...

Correction of hyperopia (far-sightedness) is accomplished by decreasing the radius of curvature of the cornea. Radio frequency (RF) current at 350 kHz is presently being used to the required correction. The procedure is termed Conductive Keratoplasty and temperature increases induced by the RF current shrink corneal collagen. Finite difference method (FDM) numerical models of the electric and c...

Previous studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that thermal injury to the skin of rats is associated with the production of oxygen radicals by complement-activated blood neutrophils, resulting in acute lung injury as demonstrated by increases in lung vascular permeability and morphological evidence of vascular endothelial cell damage, interstitial edema, and alveolar hemorrhage. In the ...

Manufacturers of aerospace, defense, and high performance (ADHP) equipment are currently facing multiple challenges related to the reliability of electronic systems. The continuing reduction in size of electronic components combined with increasing clock frequencies and greater functionality, results in increased power density. As an effect, controlling the temperature of electronic components ...