Light-scattering Probe

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Cataract is a leading cause of blindness. Diabetes and glycemic conditions enhance the chances of developing cataracts early. Currently, no medical treatment is available to prevent or halt the progression of a cataract

1.Description

2.Why

3.How

4.Future Trends

5.Related Links

Description

Half of all blindness worldwide is due to cataracts, and 34 million Americans over the age of 65 have cataracts. This figure is expected to rise to 70 million by the year 2030.  The only known treatment is surgical removal of the lens. It is estimated that over $5 billion will be spent this year for the treatment of cataract patients in the United States alone. There are no immediate methods to reverse a cataract once it has been detected by conventional methods.Light-scattering Probe is several orders of magnitude more sensitive than conventional clinical systems for cataract treatments.

Why

This ultrahigh sensitivity enables the probe to detect the onset of a cataract before it has any effect on vision and allows researchers to test the effectiveness of anticataract drugs in reversing cataracts.This device (see the following illustration) was originally designed to study transport phenomena in microgravity fluid physics experiments onboard the space shuttle orbiters and space station. It will be very useful in testing anticataract drugs to halt or reverse the progression of cataracts during longitudinal clinical trials.

How

In light of this development, can we find a medical cure for cataracts? According to preliminary experimental data obtained recently in collaboration with the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, the answer is likely yes. Professor John Clark has been advocating the use of the drug Pantethine as an anticataract agent for many years.Determination of its efficacy has remained elusive because of the lack of reliable techniques for noninvasive and quantitative detection of early cataracts.It is carried out using two completely independent apparatuses. One, the turbidity apparatus, had the advantages of sensitivity and convenience of use. The other, the angle dependence apparatus, had the advantage of providing  the additional information needed to explain the effects of sonication observed in former.Experiments conducted with 12 rodents using the DLS probe show promising results. The probe was used in the static mode, in which the eye of the animal (cornea to retina) was scanned at a very low, safe laser power of 80 mW to collect photons, or scattered intensity, in steps of 10 mm (see the graph)

Future Trends

A laser light imaging probe (PMS OAP-260X) and a light scattering probe (PMS FSSP-100) were used to measure droplet size and frequency from atomizers used in aerial spraying. The tests were done at full scale in an aspirated flow wind tunnel, on a temporal basis. We are interested in knowing information of cumulative volume fraction vs droplet size. Methods and results are presented for calibrating the light scattering instrument for droplet size, refractive index, and sample cross-section. Calibration of the light imaging probe is discussed also.

Keywords 

Forward scattering spectrometer probe, optical array spectrometer probe, calibration, atomizer characterization, drop size distribution

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