High Resolution Laser Speckle Strain Gauge for Biomedical Research and Diagnostics

0201841Kirkpatrick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。 在该奖项期间，研究人员建议将系统的有用范围扩展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方法，通过该方法可以直接以非破坏性方式测量组织和细胞片的粘弹性。 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提供关于组织的机械行为的详细信息，其应变分辨率比传统上用于这些目的的应变技术（包括经典的干涉测量技术）更好，2）散斑应变仪的变化可以产生关于生物组织的粘弹性常数的信息，例如机械损耗因子（tan d），储能模量和损耗模量，以及3）应变仪技术可以被修改以提供双轴载荷下组织的全2D应变数据。 验证这些假设的具体目的是：1）实现用于评估单细胞和细胞片的微力学行为的成像激光散斑应变计，2）开发散斑应变计的变体以产生粘弹性常数，例如损耗因子（tan d）、储能模量和损耗模量，以及3）修改散斑应变计以获取和分析二维应变数据。 研究结果将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.