High Resolution Laser Speckle Strain Gauge for Biomedical Research and Diagnostics

该提案的重点是继续开发和实施用于生物医学研究和医疗诊断目的的高分辨率、成像激光散斑应变仪。在本奖项期间，研究人员建议将该系统的使用范围扩大到单细胞和单细胞厚细胞层的水平，并开发和实施一种光学手段，通过这种手段可以以非破坏性的方式直接测量组织和细胞膜的粘弹性特性。推动这项研究的假设是：1)改进的激光散斑应变测量技术可以在细胞水平上以更好的应变分辨率提供组织力学行为的详细信息，比传统的用于这些目的的应变技术，包括经典的干涉技术，2)斑点应变计的变化可以得到关于生物组织的粘弹性常数的信息，如机械损失因子(Tan D)、储存模数和损失模数，以及3)应变计技术可以被改进以提供组织在双轴加载下的全2D应变数据。测试这些假设的具体目的是：1)实现成像激光散斑应变仪，用于评估单细胞和单元片的微观力学行为；2)开发一种变化的散斑应变仪，以产生粘弹性常数，如损耗因子(Tan D)、存储模数和损耗模数；3)对散斑应变仪进行改进，以获取和分析二维应变数据。研究结果应该对各种现代诊断和治疗应用产生重大影响。

0201841KirkpatrickThe proposal focused on continued development and implementation of a high resolution, imaging laser speckle-based strain gauge for biomedical research and medical diagnostic purposes. During the period of this award, the investigators propose to expand the useful range of the system to the level of single cells and single-cell thick cell layers and to develop and implement an optical means by which the viscoelastic properties of tissues and cell sheets can be measured directly in a nondestructive manner. The hypotheses driving this research are: 1) Improved laser speckle strain measurement technology can provide detailed information on the mechanical behavior of tissues at the cellular level with better strain resolution than strain technologies conventionally employed for these purposes, including classical interferometric technologies, 2) Variations of the speckle strain gauge can yield information regarding the viscoelastic constants of biological tissues such as mechanical loss factor (tan d), storage modulus, and loss modulus and 3) The strain gauge technology can be modified to provide full 2D strain data of tissues under biaxial loading. The specific aims to test these hypotheses are: 1) To implement an imaging laser speckle strain gauge for evaluating the micromechanical behavior of single-cells and cell sheets, 2) To develop a variation of the speckle strain gauge to yield viscoelastic constants such as loss factor (tan d), storage modulus and loss modulus and 3) To modify the speckle strain gauge to acquire and analyze 2-dimensional strain data. Results of the studies should have a significant impact on a variety of modern diagnostic and therapeutic applications.