Photonics for a Better World

 (Image: MIT.) In a newsletter post today titled "OCT gets deep," optics.org Editor Mike Hatcher heralds some important developments for physicians and their patients: "Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has come a long way since its early development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). But there has always been one key limitation of the technique: its inability to image at depths of more than a couple of millimeters. "But that now looks set to change, thanks to OCT systems based around lasers with tunable, narrow linewidths and long coherence lengths . So whereas physicians currently use OCT to look at just the retina, they could soon be using it to sweep through the entire structure of the eye. "Clinical development of such systems will inevitably take time, but last week also saw a new OCT system for cardiovascular imaging launched in Japan. In combination with a non-optical technique, the system designed by St. Jude Medi...

Talk about changing life for the better: We've been hearing a lot lately about work by Daniel Palanker's group at Stanford University in restoring sight with a retinal prosthesis using a photovoltaic chip. In the video above, Palanker details the wireless system in the BiOS Hot Topics session at SPIE Photonics West last January. The Stanford method is intended for people experiencing retinal degenerative disorders. It uses a photocell sub-retinal implant and an external projection system to relay images from an outside camera using near-infrared (IR) light directed to the photocell array, which is made from a thinned silicon safer that is flexible enough to match the contour of the eye. The surgical implant is a simple procedure, and provides the patient with a near-normal gaze angle. Using light in the IR spectrum avoids complications from viable retina tissues. Research team member James Loudin receive...

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will go farther into space -- that “final frontier” -- and add to scientific knowledge in ways no previous space telescope has done before. Even before the telescope's completion and launch, the process of developing its sensors and other technology is already having an impact in fields such as laser eye surgery and manufacturing. Check out these new SPIE Newsroom videos to hear first-hand from NASA scientists Joe Howard and Lee Feinberg about JWST and how work on the telescope will, as Feinberg says, continue to “serve humanity for a long time.” First, Joe Howard: " JWST blazes new trails in optical design ." And next, Lee Feinberg: " JWST technologies already bearing fruit ." Read more about the project on the NASA JWST website . How many innovations do you use every day that began as space technologies?

Nicolaus Copernicus students explore optical fibers with kindergarten students as part of an SPIE Student Chapter outreach project. Members of the SPIE Student Chapter at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland went to a kindergarten to teach about physics, and came away with a powerful, life-changing idea for helping children with vision problems. Chapter member Danuta Bukowska tells the story: Like many other people with healthy vision, we had remained unaware of how difficult the lives of partially sighted people may be until we visited the Jan Brzechwa Kindergarten. One intention was to demonstrate special experiments in physics to the children. In the process, we saw how much work and practice on their part is essential for the partially sighted children among the class to cope in society. Deeply moved by this experience, we decided to take advantage of the resourcefulness and skills of young people who could put together an educational set of toys...