Microwave-induced thermoacoustic elastic imaging:A simulation study

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(MTI)has the advantages of high resolution,high contrast,non-ionization,and non-invasive.Recently,MTI was used in the¯eld of breast cancer screening.In this paper,based on the¯nite element method(FEM)and COMSOL Multiphysics software,a three-dimensional breast cancer model suitable for exploring the MTI process is proposed to investigate the in°uence of Young's modulus(YM)of breast cancer tissue on MTI.It is found that the process of electromagnetic heating and initial pressure generation of the entire breast tissue is earlier in time than the thermal expansion process.Besides,compared with normal breast tissue,tumor tissue has a greater temperature rise,displacement,and pressure rise.In particular,YM of the tumor is related to the speed of thermal expansion.In particular,the larger the YM of the tumor is,the higher the heating and contraction frequency is,and the greater the maximum pressure is.Di®erent Young's moduli correspond to di®erent thermoacoustic signal spectra.In MTI,this study can be used to judge di®erent degrees of breast cancer based on elastic imaging.In addition,this study is helpful in exploring the possibility of microwave-induced thermoacoustic elastic imaging(MTAE).

Preoperative prediction of perineural invasion of rectal cancer based on a magnetic resonance imaging radiomics model:A dual-center study

BACKGROUND Perineural invasion(PNI)has been used as an important pathological indicator and independent prognostic factor for patients with rectal cancer(RC).Preoperative prediction of PNI status is helpful for individualized treatment of RC.Recently,several radiomics studies have been used to predict the PNI status in RC,demonstrating a good predictive effect,but the results lacked generalizability.The preoperative prediction of PNI status is still challenging and needs further study.AIM To establish and validate an optimal radiomics model for predicting PNI status preoperatively in RC patients.METHODS This retrospective study enrolled 244 postoperative patients with pathologically confirmed RC from two independent centers.The patients underwent preoperative high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)between May 2019 and August 2022.Quantitative radiomics features were extracted and selected from oblique axial T2-weighted imaging(T2WI)and contrast-enhanced T1WI(T1CE)sequences.The radiomics signatures were constructed using logistic regression analysis and the predictive potential of various sequences was compared(T2WI,T1CE and T2WI+T1CE fusion sequences).A clinical-radiomics(CR)model was established by combining the radiomics features and clinical risk factors.The internal and external validation groups were used to validate the proposed models.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC),DeLong test,net reclassification improvement(NRI),integrated discrimination improvement(IDI),calibration curve,and decision curve analysis(DCA)were used to evaluate the model performance.RESULTS Among the radiomics models,the T2WI+T1CE fusion sequences model showed the best predictive performance,in the training and internal validation groups,the AUCs of the fusion sequence model were 0.839[95%confidence interval(CI):0.757-0.921]and 0.787(95%CI:0.650-0.923),which were higher than those of the T2WI and T1CE sequence models.The CR model constructed by combining clinical risk factors had the best predictive performance.In the training and internal and external validation groups,the AUCs of the CR model were 0.889(95%CI:0.824-0.954),0.889(95%CI:0.803-0.976)and 0.894(95%CI:0.814-0.974).Delong test,NRI,and IDI showed that the CR model had significant differences from other models(P<0.05).Calibration curves demonstrated good agreement,and DCA revealed significant benefits of the CR model.CONCLUSION The CR model based on preoperative MRI radiomics features and clinical risk factors can preoperatively predict the PNI status of RC noninvasively,which facilitates individualized treatment of RC patients.

Two-photon live imaging of direct glia-to-neuron conversion in the mouse cortex

Over the past decade,a growing number of studies have reported transcription factor-based in situ reprogramming that can directly conve rt endogenous glial cells into functional neurons as an alternative approach for n euro regeneration in the adult mammalian central ne rvous system.Howeve r,many questions remain regarding how a terminally differentiated glial cell can transform into a delicate neuron that forms part of the intricate brain circuitry.In addition,concerns have recently been raised around the absence of astrocyte-to-neuron conversion in astrocytic lineage-tra cing mice.In this study,we employed repetitive two-photon imaging to continuously capture the in situ astrocyte-to-neuron conversion process following ecto pic expression of the neural transcription factor NeuroD1 in both prolife rating reactive astrocytes and lineage-tra ced astrocytes in the mouse cortex.Time-lapse imaging over several wee ks revealed the ste p-by-step transition from a typical astrocyte with numero us short,tapered branches to a typical neuro n with a few long neurites and dynamic growth cones that actively explored the local environment.In addition,these lineage-converting cells were able to migrate ra dially or to ngentially to relocate to suitable positions.Furthermore,two-photon Ca2+imaging and patch-clamp recordings confirmed that the newly generated neuro ns exhibited synchronous calcium signals,repetitive action potentials,and spontaneous synaptic responses,suggesting that they had made functional synaptic connections within local neural circuits.In conclusion,we directly visualized the step-by-step lineage conversion process from astrocytes to functional neurons in vivo and unambiguously demonstrated that adult mammalian brains are highly plastic with respect to their potential for neuro regeneration and neural circuit reconstruction.

Data-driven polarimetric imaging: a review

This study reviews the recent advances in data-driven polarimetric imaging technologies based on a wide range of practical applications.The widespread international research and activity in polarimetric imaging techniques demonstrate their broad applications and interest.Polarization information is increasingly incorporated into convolutional neural networks(CNN)as a supplemental feature of objects to improve performance in computer vision task applications.Polarimetric imaging and deep learning can extract abundant information to address various challenges.Therefore,this article briefly reviews recent developments in data-driven polarimetric imaging,including polarimetric descattering,3D imaging,reflection removal,target detection,and biomedical imaging.Furthermore,we synthetically analyze the input,datasets,and loss functions and list the existing datasets and loss functions with an evaluation of their advantages and disadvantages.We also highlight the significance of data-driven polarimetric imaging in future research and development.

NIR-II fluorescence imaging in liver tumor surgery: A narrative review

In liver tumor surgery,the recognition of tumor margin and radical resection of microcancer focis have always been the crucial points to reduce postoperative recurrence of tumor.However,naked-eye inspection and palpation have limited effectiveness in identifying tumor boundaries,and traditional imaging techniques cannot consistently locate tumors in real time.As an intraoperative real-time navigation imaging method,NIRfluorescence imaging has been extensively studied for its simplicity,reliable safety,and superior sensitivity,and is expected to improve the accuracy of liver tumor surgery.In recent years,the research focus of NIRfluorescence has gradually shifted from the-rst near-infrared window(NIR-I,700–900 nm)to the second near-infrared window(NIR-II,1000–1700 nm).Fluorescence imaging in NIR-II reduces the scattering effect of deep tissue,providing a preferable detection depth and spatial resolution while signi-cantly eliminating liver autofluorescence background to clarify tumor margin.Developingfluorophores combined with tumor antibodies will further improve the precision offluorescence-guided surgical navigation.With the development of a bunch offluorophores with phototherapy ability,NIR-II can integrate tumor detection and treatment to explore a new therapeutic strategy for liver cancer.Here,we review the recent progress of NIR-IIfluorescence technology in liver tumor surgery and discuss its challenges and potential development direction.

Magnetic resonance imaging of extraocular rectus muscles abnormalities in acute acquired concomitant esotropia

AIM:To investigate the difference of medial rectus(MR)and lateral rectus(LR)between acute acquired concomitant esotropia(AACE)and the healthy controls(HCs)detected by magnetic resonance imaging(MRI).METHODS:A case-control study.Eighteen subjects with AACE and eighteen HCs were enrolled.MRI scanning data were conducted in target-controlled central gaze with a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance scanner.Extraocular muscles(EOMs)were scanned in contiguous image planes 2-mm thick spanning the EOM origins to the globe equator.To form posterior partial volumes(PPVs),the LR and MR cross-sections in the image planes 8,10,12,and 14 mm posterior to the globe were summed and multiplied by the 2-mm slice thickness.The data were classified according to the right eye,left eye,dominant eye,and non-dominant eye,and the differences in mean cross-sectional area,maximum cross-sectional area,and PPVs of the MR and LR muscle in the AACE group and HCs group were compared under the above classifications respectively.RESULTS:There were no significant differences between the two groups of demographic characteristics.The mean cross-sectional area of the LR muscle was significantly greater in the AACE group than that in the HCs group in the non-dominant eyes(P=0.028).The maximum cross-sectional area of the LR muscle both in the dominant and non-dominant eye of the AACE group was significantly greater than the HCs group(P=0.009,P=0.016).For the dominant eye,the PPVs of the LR muscle were significantly greater in the AACE than that in the HCs group(P=0.013),but not in the MR muscle(P=0.698).CONCLUSION:The size and volume of muscles dominant eyes of AACE subjects change significantly to overcome binocular diplopia.The LR muscle become larger to compensate for the enhanced convergence in the AACE.

Potential applications of 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging in paediatric neuroimaging:Feasibility and challenges

The integration of 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging(7 T MRI)in adult patients has marked a revolutionary stride in radiology.In this article we explore the feasibility of 7 T MRI in paediatric practice,emphasizing its feasibility,applications,challenges,and safety considerations.The heightened resolution and tissue contrast of 7 T MRI offer unprecedented diagnostic accuracy,particularly in neuroimaging.Applications range from neuro-oncology to neonatal brain imaging,showcasing its efficacy in detecting subtle structural abnormalities and providing enhanced insights into neurological conditions.Despite the promise,challenges such as high cost,discomfort,and safety concerns necessitate careful consideration.Research suggests that,with precautions,7 T MRI is feasible in paediatrics,yet ongoing studies and safety assessments are imperative.

Staging liver fibrosis with various diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging models

BACKGROUND Diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI)has been developed to stage liver fibrosis.However,its diagnostic performance is inconsistent among studies.Therefore,it is worth studying the diagnostic value of various diffusion models for liver fibrosis in one cohort.AIM To evaluate the clinical potential of six diffusion-weighted models in liver fibrosis staging and compare their diagnostic performances.METHODS This prospective study enrolled 59 patients suspected of liver disease and scheduled for liver biopsy and 17 healthy participants.All participants underwent multi-b value DWI.The main DWI-derived parameters included Mono-apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)from mono-exponential DWI,intravoxel incoherent motion model-derived true diffusion coefficient(IVIM-D),diffusion kurtosis imaging-derived apparent diffusivity(DKI-MD),stretched exponential model-derived distributed diffusion coefficient(SEM-DDC),fractional order calculus(FROC)model-derived diffusion coefficient(FROC-D)and FROC model-derived microstructural quantity(FROC-μ),and continuous-time random-walk(CTRW)model-derived anomalous diffusion coefficient(CTRW-D)and CTRW model-derived temporal diffusion heterogeneity index(CTRW-α).The correlations between DWI-derived parameters and fibrosis stages and the parameters’diagnostic efficacy in detecting significant fibrosis(SF)were assessed and compared.RESULTS CTRW-D(r=-0.356),CTRW-α(r=-0.297),DKI-MD(r=-0.297),FROC-D(r=-0.350),FROC-μ(r=-0.321),IVIM-D(r=-0.251),Mono-ADC(r=-0.362),and SEM-DDC(r=-0.263)were significantly correlated with fibrosis stages.The areas under the ROC curves(AUCs)of the combined index of the six models for distinguishing SF(0.697-0.747)were higher than each of the parameters alone(0.524-0.719).The DWI models’ability to detect SF was similar.The combined index of CTRW model parameters had the highest AUC(0.747).CONCLUSION The DWI models were similarly valuable in distinguishing SF in patients with liver disease.The combined index of CTRW parameters had the highest AUC.

Value of multiple models of diffusion-weighted imaging to predict hepatic lymph node metastases in colorectal liver metastases patients

BACKGROUND About 10%-31% of colorectal liver metastases(CRLM)patients would concomitantly show hepatic lymph node metastases(LNM),which was considered as sign of poor biological behavior and a relative contraindication for liver resection.Up to now,there’s still lack of reliable preoperative methods to assess the status of hepatic lymph nodes in patients with CRLM,except for pathology examination of lymph node after resection.AIM To compare the ability of mono-exponential,bi-exponential,and stretchedexponential diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI)models in distinguishing between benign and malignant hepatic lymph nodes in patients with CRLM who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to surgery.METHODS In this retrospective study,97 CRLM patients with pathologically confirmed hepatic lymph node status underwent magnetic resonance imaging,including DWI with ten b values before and after chemotherapy.Various parameters,such as the apparent diffusion coefficient from the mono-exponential model,and the true diffusion coefficient,the pseudo-diffusion coefficient,and the perfusion fraction derived from the intravoxel incoherent motion model,along with distributed diffusion coefficient(DDC)andαfrom the stretched-exponential model(SEM),were measured.The parameters before and after chemotherapy were compared between positive and negative hepatic lymph node groups.A nomogram was constructed to predict the hepatic lymph node status.The reliability and agreement of the measurements were assessed using the coefficient of variation and intraclass correlation coefficient.RESULTS Multivariate analysis revealed that the pre-treatment DDC value and the short diameter of the largest lymph node after treatment were independent predictors of metastatic hepatic lymph nodes.A nomogram combining these two factors demonstrated excellent performance in distinguishing between benign and malignant lymph nodes in CRLM patients,with an area under the curve of 0.873.Furthermore,parameters from SEM showed substantial repeatability.CONCLUSION The developed nomogram,incorporating the pre-treatment DDC and the short axis of the largest lymph node,can be used to predict the presence of hepatic LNM in CRLM patients undergoing chemotherapy before surgery.This nomogram was proven to be more valuable,exhibiting superior diagnostic performance compared to quantitative parameters derived from multiple b values of DWI.The nomogram can serve as a preoperative assessment tool for determining the status of hepatic lymph nodes and aiding in the decision-making process for surgical treatment in CRLM patients.

T2-weighted imaging-based radiomic-clinical machine learning model for predicting the differentiation of colorectal adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND The study on predicting the differentiation grade of colorectal cancer(CRC)based on magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)has not been reported yet.Developing a non-invasive model to predict the differentiation grade of CRC is of great value.AIM To develop and validate machine learning-based models for predicting the differ-entiation grade of CRC based on T2-weighted images(T2WI).METHODS We retrospectively collected the preoperative imaging and clinical data of 315 patients with CRC who underwent surgery from March 2018 to July 2023.Patients were randomly assigned to a training cohort(n=220)or a validation cohort(n=95)at a 7:3 ratio.Lesions were delineated layer by layer on high-resolution T2WI.Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression was applied to screen for radiomic features.Radiomics and clinical models were constructed using the multilayer perceptron(MLP)algorithm.These radiomic features and clinically relevant variables(selected based on a significance level of P<0.05 in the training set)were used to construct radiomics-clinical models.The performance of the three models(clinical,radiomic,and radiomic-clinical model)were evaluated using the area under the curve(AUC),calibration curve and decision curve analysis(DCA).RESULTS After feature selection,eight radiomic features were retained from the initial 1781 features to construct the radiomic model.Eight different classifiers,including logistic regression,support vector machine,k-nearest neighbours,random forest,extreme trees,extreme gradient boosting,light gradient boosting machine,and MLP,were used to construct the model,with MLP demonstrating the best diagnostic performance.The AUC of the radiomic-clinical model was 0.862(95%CI:0.796-0.927)in the training cohort and 0.761(95%CI:0.635-0.887)in the validation cohort.The AUC for the radiomic model was 0.796(95%CI:0.723-0.869)in the training cohort and 0.735(95%CI:0.604-0.866)in the validation cohort.The clinical model achieved an AUC of 0.751(95%CI:0.661-0.842)in the training cohort and 0.676(95%CI:0.525-0.827)in the validation cohort.All three models demonstrated good accuracy.In the training cohort,the AUC of the radiomic-clinical model was significantly greater than that of the clinical model(P=0.005)and the radiomic model(P=0.016).DCA confirmed the clinical practicality of incorporating radiomic features into the diagnostic process.CONCLUSION In this study,we successfully developed and validated a T2WI-based machine learning model as an auxiliary tool for the preoperative differentiation between well/moderately and poorly differentiated CRC.This novel approach may assist clinicians in personalizing treatment strategies for patients and improving treatment efficacy.

In vivo imaging reveals a synchronized correlation among neurotransmitter dynamics during propofol and sevoflurane anesthesia

General anesthesia is widely applied in clinical practice.However,the precise mechanism of loss of consciousness induced by general anesthetics remains unknown.Here,we measured the dynamics of five neurotransmitters,includingγ-aminobutyric acid,glutamate,norepinephrine,acetylcholine,and dopamine,in the medial prefrontal cortex and primary visual cortex of C57BL/6 mice through in vivo fiber photometry and genetically encoded neurotransmitter sensors under anesthesia to reveal the mechanism of general anesthesia from a neurotransmitter perspective.Results revealed that the concentrations of γ-aminobutyric acid,glutamate,norepinephrine,and acetylcholine increased in the cortex during propofol-induced loss of consciousness.Dopamine levels did not change following the hypnotic dose of propofol but increased significantly following surgical doses of propofol anesthesia.Notably,the concentrations of the five neurotransmitters generally decreased during sevoflurane-induced loss of consciousness.Furthermore,the neurotransmitter dynamic networks were not synchronized in the non-anesthesia groups but were highly synchronized in the anesthetic groups.These findings suggest that neurotransmitter dynamic network synchronization may cause anesthetic-induced loss of consciousness.

Imaging characteristics and treatment strategies for carotid artery occlusion caused by skull base fracture:Three case reports

BACKGROUND Traumatic internal carotid artery(ICA)occlusion is a rare complication of skull base fractures,characterized by high mortality and disability rates,and poor prognosis.Therefore,timely discovery and correct management are crucial for saving the lives of such patients and improving their prognosis.This article retrospectively analyzed the imaging and clinical data of three patients,to explore the imaging characteristics and treatment strategies for carotid artery occlusion,combined with severe skull base fractures.CASE SUMMARY This case included three patients,all male,aged 21,63,and 16 years.They underwent plain film skull computed tomography(CT)examination at the onset of their illnesses,which revealed fractures at the bases of their skulls.Ultimately,these cases were definitively diagnosed through CT angiography(CTA)examinations.The first patient did not receive surgical treatment,only anticoagulation therapy,and recovered smoothly with no residual limb dysfunction(Case 1).The other two patients both developed intracranial hypertension and underwent decompressive craniectomy.One of these patients had high intracranial pressure and significant brain swelling postoperatively,leading the family to choose to take him home(Case 2).The other patient also underwent decompressive craniectomy and recovered well postoperatively with only mild limb motor dysfunction(Case 3).We retrieved literature from PubMed on skull base fractures causing ICA occlusion to determine the imaging characteristics and treatment strategies for this type of disease.CONCLUSION For patients with cranial trauma combined with skull base fractures,it is essential to complete a CTA examination as soon as possible,to screen for blunt cerebrovascular injury.

Outcomes and efficacy of magnetic resonance imaging-compatible sacral nerve stimulator for management of fecal incontinence: A multi-institutional study

BACKGROUND Fecal incontinence(FI)is an involuntary passage of fecal matter which can have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life.Many modalities of treatment exist for FI.Sacral nerve stimulation is a well-established treatment for FI.Given the increased need of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)for diagnostics,the In-terStim which was previously used in sacral nerve stimulation was limited by MRI incompatibility.Medtronic MRI-compatible InterStim was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in August 2020 and has been widely used.AIM To evaluate the efficacy,outcomes and complications of the MRI-compatible InterStim.METHODS Data of patients who underwent MRI-compatible Medtronic InterStim placement at UPMC Williamsport,University of Minnesota,Advocate Lutheran General Hospital,and University of Wisconsin-Madison was pooled and analyzed.Patient demographics,clinical features,surgical techniques,complications,and outcomes were analyzed.Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology(STROBE)cross-sectional reporting guidelines were used.RESULTS Seventy-three patients had the InterStim implanted.The mean age was 63.29±12.2 years.Fifty-seven(78.1%)patients were females and forty-two(57.5%)patients had diabetes.In addition to incontinence,overlapping symptoms included diarrhea(23.3%),fecal urgency(58.9%),and urinary incontinence(28.8%).Fifteen(20.5%)patients underwent Peripheral Nerve Evaluation before proceeding to definite implant placement.Thirty-two(43.8%)patients underwent rechargeable InterStim placement.Three(4.1%)patients needed removal of the implant.Migration of the external lead connection was observed in 7(9.6%)patients after the stage I procedure.The explanation for one patient was due to infection.Seven(9.6%)patients had other complications like nerve pain,hematoma,infection,lead fracture,and bleeding.The mean follow-up was 6.62±3.5 mo.Sixty-eight(93.2%)patients reported significant improvement of symptoms on follow-up evaluation.CONCLUSION This study shows promising results with significant symptom improvement,good efficacy and good patient outcomes with low complication rates while using MRI compatible InterStim for FI.Further long-term follow-up and future studies with a larger patient population is recommended.

Imaging and endoscopic tools in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease: What’s new?

Pediatric inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)is a chronic inflammatory disorder,with increasing incidence and prevalence worldwide.There have been recent advances in imaging and endoscopic technology for disease diagnosis,treatment,and monitoring.Intestinal ultrasound,including transabdominal,transperineal,and endoscopic,has been emerging for the assessment of transmural bowel inflammation and disease complications(e.g.,fistula,abscess).Aside from surgery,IBD-related intestinal strictures now have endoscopic treatment options including through-the-scope balloon dilatation,injection,and needle knife stricturotomy and new evaluation tools such as endoscopic functional lumen imaging probe.Unsedated transnasal endoscopy may have a role in patients with upper gastrointestinal Crohn’s disease or those with IBD with new upper gastrointestinal symptoms.Improvements to dysplasia screening in pediatric patients with longstanding colonic disease or primary sclerosing cholangitis hold promise with the addition of virtual chromoendoscopy and ongoing research in the field of artificial intelligence-assisted endoscopic detection.Artificial intelligence and machine learning is a rapidly evolving field,with goals of further personalizing IBD diagnosis and treatment selection as well as prognostication.This review summarized these advancements,focusing on pediatric patients with IBD.

Intravascular photoacoustic and optical coherence tomography imaging dual-mode system for detecting spontaneous coronary artery dissection: A feasibility study

In this work,we present an intravascular dual-mode endoscopic system capable of both intravascular photoacoustic imaging(IVPAI)and intravascular optical coherence tomography(IVOCT)for recognizing spontaneous coronary artery dissection(SCAD)phantoms.IVPAI provides high-resolution and high-penetration images of intramural hematoma(IMH)at different depths,so it is especially useful for imaging deep blood clots associated with imaging phantoms.IVOCT can readily visualize the double-lumen morphology of blood vessel walls to identify intimal tears.We also demonstrate the capability of this dual-mode endoscopic system using mimicking phantoms and biological samples of blood clots in ex vivo porcine arteries.The results of the experiments indicate that the combined IVPAI and IVOCT technique has the potential to provide a more accurate SCAD assessment method for clinical applications.

A synthetic diagnostics platform for microwave imaging diagnostics in tokamaks

Interpreting experimental diagnostics data in tokamaks,while considering non-ideal effects,is challenging due to the complexity of plasmas.To address this challenge,a general synthetic diagnostics(GSD)platform has been established that facilitates microwave imaging reflectometry and electron cyclotron emission imaging.This platform utilizes plasma profiles as input and incorporates the finite-difference time domain,ray tracing and the radiative transfer equation to calculate the propagation of plasma spontaneous radiation and the external electromagnetic field in plasmas.Benchmark tests for classical cases have been conducted to verify the accuracy of every core module in the GSD platform.Finally,2D imaging of a typical electron temperature distribution is reproduced by this platform and the results are consistent with the given real experimental data.This platform also has the potential to be extended to 3D electromagnetic field simulations and other microwave diagnostics such as cross-polarization scattering.

Self-confocal NIR-II fluorescence microscopy for multifunctional in vivo imaging

Fluorescence imaging in the second near-infrared window(NIR-II,900–1880 nm)with less scattering background in biological tissues has been combined with the confocal microscopic system for achieving deep in vivo imaging with high spatial resolution.However,the traditional NIR-IIfluorescence confocal microscope with separate excitation focus and detection pinhole makes it possess low confocal e±ciency,as well as di±cultly to adjust.Two types of upgraded NIR-IIfluorescence confocal microscopes,sharing the same pinhole by excitation and emission focus,leading to higher confocal e±ciency,are built in this work.One type is-ber-pinhole-based confocal microscope applicable to CW laser excitation.It is constructed forfluorescence intensity imaging with large depth,high stabilization and low cost,which could replace multiphotonfluorescence microscopy in some applications(e.g.,cerebrovascular and hepatocellular imaging).The other type is air-pinhole-based confocal microscope applicable to femtosecond(fs)laser excitation.It can be employed not only for NIR-IIfluorescence intensity imaging,but also for multi-channelfluorescence lifetime imaging to recognize different structures with similarfluorescence spectrum.Moreover,it can be facilely combined with multiphotonfluorescence microscopy.A single fs pulsed laser is utilized to achieve up-conversion(visible multiphotonfluorescence)and down-conversion(NIR-II one-photonfluorescence)excitation simultaneously,extending imaging spectral channels,and thus facilitates multi-structure and multi-functional observation.

Performance optimization of the neutron-sensitive image intensifier used in neutron imaging

As a non-destructive testing technology,neutron imaging plays an important role in various fields,including material science,nuclear engineering,and fundamental science.An imaging detector with a neutron-sensitive image intensifier has been developed and demonstrated to achieve good spatial resolution and timing resolution.However,the influence of the working voltage on the performance of the neutron-sensitive imaging intensifier has not been studied.To optimize the performance of the neutron-sensitive image intensifier at different voltages,experiments have been performed at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)neutron beamline.The change in the light yield and imaging quality with different voltages has been acquired.It is shown that the image quality benefits from the high gain of the microchannel plate(MCP)and the high accelerating electric field between the MCP and the screen.Increasing the accelerating electric field is more effective than increasing the gain of MCPs for the improvement of the imaging quality.Increasing the total gain of the MCP stack can be realized more effectively by improving the gain of the standard MCP than that of the n MCP.These results offer a development direction for image intensifiers in the future.

Fast X-ray imaging beamline at SSRF

The fast X-ray imaging beamline(BL16U2)at Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility(SSRF)is a new beamline that provides X-ray micro-imaging capabilities across a wide range of time scales,spanning from 100 ps toμs and ms.This beamline has been specifically designed to facilitate the investigation of a wide range of rapid phenomena,such as the deformation and failure of materials subjected to intense dynamic loads.In addition,it enables the study of high-pressure and high-speed fuel spray processes in automotive engines.The light source of this beamline is a cryogenic permanent magnet undulator(CPMU)that is cooled by liquid nitrogen.This CPMU can generate X-ray photons within an energy range of 8.7-30 keV.The beamline offers two modes of operation:monochromatic beam mode with a liquid nitrogen-cooled double-crystal monochromator(DCM)and pink beam mode with the first crystal of the DCM out of the beam path.Four X-ray imaging methods were implemented in BL16U2:single-pulse ultrafast X-ray imaging,microsecond-resolved X-ray dynamic imaging,millisecond-resolved X-ray dynamic micro-CT,and high-resolution quantitative micro-CT.Furthermore,BL16U2 is equipped with various in situ impact loading systems,such as a split Hopkinson bar system,light gas gun,and fuel spray chamber.Following the completion of the final commissioning in 2021 and subsequent trial operations in 2022,the beamline has been officially available to users from 2023.

Stimulated Raman scattering microscopy with phase-controlled light focusing and aberration correction for rapid and label-free, volumetric deep tissue imaging

We report a novel stimulated Raman scattering(SRS)microscopy technique featuring phase-controlled light focusing and aberration corrections for rapid,deep tissue 3D chemical imaging with subcellular resolution.To accomplish phasecontrolled SRS(PC-SRS),we utilize a single spatial light modulator to electronically tune the axial positioning of both the shortened-length Bessel pump and the focused Gaussian Stokes beams,enabling z-scanning-free optical sectioning in the sample.By incorporating Zernike polynomials into the phase patterns,we simultaneously correct the system aberrations at two separate wavelengths(~240 nm difference),achieving a~3-fold enhancement in signal-to-noise ratio over the uncorrected imaging system.PC-SRS provides>2-fold improvement in imaging depth in various samples(e.g.,polystyrene bead phantoms,porcine brain tissue)as well as achieves SRS 3D imaging speed of~13 Hz per volume for real-time monitoring of Brownian motion of polymer beads in water,superior to conventional point-scanning SRS 3D imaging.We further utilize PC-SRS to observe the metabolic activities of the entire tumor liver in living zebrafish in cellsilent region,unraveling the upregulated metabolism in liver tumor compared to normal liver.This work shows that PCSRS provides unprecedented insights into morpho-chemistry,metabolic and dynamic functioning of live cells and tissue in real-time at the subcellular level.