Cavitation Plays a Vital Role in Stone Dusting During Short Pulse Holmium:YAG Laser Lithotripsy.

To investigate the mechanism of stone dusting in Holmium (Ho): YAG laser lithotripsy (LL). Cylindrical BegoStone samples (6 × 6 mm, H × D) were treated in water using a clinical Ho:YAG laser lithotripter in dusting mode (0.2-0.

Comparison of Different Pulse Modulation Modes for Holmium:Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet Laser Lithotripsy Ablation in a Benchtop Model.

Manipulation of Holmium:Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser parameters such as pulse energy (PE), frequency, and duration can impact laser lithotripsy ablation efficiency. In 2017, Lumenis introduced Moses™ Technology, which uses pulse modulation to enhance the delivery of energy from fiber to stone as well as to minimize stone retropulsion. Since the introduction of Moses Technology, other companies have brought additional pulse modulation concepts to market.

The Role of Cavitation in Energy Delivery and Stone Damage During Laser Lithotripsy.

Although cavitation during laser lithotripsy (LL) contributes to the Moses effect, the impact of cavitation on stone damage is less clear. Using different laser settings, we investigate the role of cavitation bubbles in energy delivery and stone damage. The role of cavitation in laser energy delivery was characterized by using photodetector measurements synced with high-speed imaging for laser pulses of varying durations.

Light scattering methods for tissue diagnosis.

Light scattering has become a common biomedical research tool, enabling diagnostic sensitivity to myriad tissue alterations associated with disease. Light-tissue interactions are particularly attractive for diagnostics due to the variety of contrast mechanisms that can be used, including spectral, angle-resolved, and Fourier-domain detection. Photonic diagnostic tools offer further benefit in that they are non-ionizing, non-invasive, and give real-time feedback.

Angular range, sampling and noise considerations for inverse light scattering analysis of nuclear morphology.

In recent years, significant work has been devoted to the use of angle-resolved elastic scattering for the extraction of nuclear morphology in tissue. By treating the nucleus as a Mie scattering object, techniques such as angle-resolved low-coherence interferometry (a/LCI) have demonstrated substantial success in identifying nuclear alterations associated with dysplasia. Because optical biopsies are inherently noninvasive, only a small, discretized portion of the 4π scattering field can be collected from tissue, limiting the amount of information available for diagnostic purposes.

Synergistic effects of matrix nanotopography and stiffness on vascular smooth muscle cell function.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs) retain the ability to undergo modulation in their phenotypic continuum, ranging from a mature contractile state to a proliferative, secretory state. vSMC differentiation is modulated by a complex array of microenvironmental cues, which include the biochemical milieu of the cells and the architecture and stiffness of the extracellular matrix. In this study, we demonstrate that by using UV-assisted capillary force lithography (CFL) to engineer a polyurethane substratum of defined nanotopography and stiffness, we can facilitate the differentiation of cultured vSMCs, reduce their inflammatory signature, and potentially promote the optimal functioning of the vSMC contractile and cytoskeletal machinery.

Syndecan-1 regulates vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype.

Objective: We examined the role of syndecan-1 in modulating the phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells in the context of endogenous inflammatory factors and altered microenvironments that occur in disease or injury-induced vascular remodeling.

Methods And Results: Vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs) display a continuum of phenotypes that can be altered during vascular remodeling. While the syndecans have emerged as powerful and complex regulators of cell function, their role in controlling vSMC phenotype is unknown.