In this section
We use light to develop advanced diagnostic tools, wearable sensors, and microscale robots for studying diseases and enabling minimally invasive treatments.
We use photonics to develop new technologies for medicine and to study the pathophysiology of disease. This includes new and improved diagnostic tools as well as microscale robotic devices for therapeutic applications. We use a variety of optical techniques for this purpose such as fluorescence, Raman and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, as well as microscopy and interferometry. We develop devices ranging from wearable sensors and fibre-optic probes for minimally invasive diagnostics through to microscale robots for cellular-scale manipulation and therapy.
Our research has a number of potential clinical applications including improved monitoring of clinical therapies and interventions (e.g. in inflammatory bowel disease and malnutrition), early diagnosis of infection, and even margin mapping in tumour resection surgery.
The devices we are developing can potentially provide less invasive and lower cost diagnostics. In turn, this may facilitate patient benefits including earlier diagnosis, earlier identification of relapse (e.g. in therapy response monitoring applications), more widespread deployment and more comfortable patient experiences (e.g. through use of less invasive probes and sensors).
Dr Belal Ahmad
Imperial College Research Fellow
Dr Qian Chen
Clinical Research Fellow
Dr Ahmed Ezzat
Research Postgraduate
Dr Nilanjan Mandal
Research Associate in Optical Sensing for LMICs
Dr Alexander J Thompson
Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sensing
Mr Zeyu Wang
Research Postgraduate
@article{Thompson:2018:10.1364/OE.26.014186,
author = {Thompson, AJ and Power, M and Yang, G-Z},
doi = {10.1364/OE.26.014186},
journal = {Optics Express},
pages = {14186--14200},
title = {A micro-scale fiber-optic force sensor fabricated using direct laser writing and calibrated using machine learning},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.26.014186},
volume = {26},
year = {2018}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Fiber-optic sensors have numerous existing and emerging applications spanning areas from industrial process monitoring to medical diagnosis. Two of the most common fiber sensors are based on the fabrication of Bragg gratings or Fabry-Perot etalons. While these techniques offer a large array of sensing targets, their utility can be limited by the difficulties involved in fabricating forward viewing probes (Bragg gratings) and in obtaining sufficient signal-to-noise ratios (Fabry-Perot systems). In this article we present a microscale fiber-optic force sensor produced using direct laser writing (DLW). The fabrication entails a single-step process that can be undertaken in a reliable and repeatable manner using a commercial DLW system. The sensor is made of a series of thin plates (i.e. Fabry-Perot etalons), which are supported by springs that compress under an applied force. At the proximal end of the fiber, the interferometric changes that are induced as the sensor is compressed are read out using reflectance spectroscopy, and the resulting spectral changes are calibrated with respect to applied force. This calibration is performed using either singular value decomposition (SVD) followed by linear regression or artificial neural networks. We describe the design and optimization of this device, with a particular focus on the data analysis required for calibration. Finally, we demonstrate proof-of-concept force sensing over the range 0-50 μN, with a measurement error of approximately 1.5 μN.
AU - Thompson,AJ
AU - Power,M
AU - Yang,G-Z
DO - 10.1364/OE.26.014186
EP - 14200
PY - 2018///
SN - 1094-4087
SP - 14186
TI - A micro-scale fiber-optic force sensor fabricated using direct laser writing and calibrated using machine learning
T2 - Optics Express
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.26.014186
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/59158
VL - 26
ER -
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