Precision Temperature Control System with Low EMI for Applications in Analyzing Thermal Properties of Highly Sensitive Piezoelectric Sensors.

A low electromagnetic interference (EMI), precision temperature control system for sensitive piezoelectric sensors stabilization and their thermal characteristics research was proposed. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) was chosen as the device to be tested. Recently, QCMs found use in many fields of study such as biology, chemistry, and aerospace.

Design and Manufacturing Optoelectronic Sensors for the Measurement of Refractive Index Changes under Unknown Polarization State.

This article proposes a new method for detecting slight refractive index changes under conditions of unknown polarization state. It is argued that an insignificant modification of the tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) structure and selecting the appropriate spectral region allows us to accurately track changes in the refractive index. It has also been proven that the method can be easily made insensitive to temperature and that the sensitivity to changes in the polarization plane of the input light can be significantly reduced, which is crucial in later practical applications.

Thermionic Electron Beam Current and Accelerating Voltage Controller for Gas Ion Sources.

Thermionic emission sources are key components of electron impact gas ion sources used in measuring instruments, such as mass spectrometers, ionization gauges, and apparatus for ionization cross-section measurements. The repeatability of the measurements taken with such instruments depends on the stability of the ion current, which is a function, among other things, of the electron beam current and electron accelerating voltage. In this paper, a laboratory thermionic electron beam current and accelerating voltage controller is presented, based on digital algorithm implementation.

Quantitative Assessment of the Airway Response to Bronchial Tests Based on a Spirometric Curve Shift.

Objective: Although spirometry is the most common pulmonary function test, there is no method to quantitatively infer about airway resistance or other properties from the flow-volume curves. Recently, an identifiable inverse model for forced expiration was proposed, as well as the idea to deduce changes in airway resistances and compliances from spirometric curve evolution. The aim of this work was to combine the above advances in a method for assessing the airway response to bronchial tests from a spirometric curve shift.

Overhead Transmission Line Sag Estimation Using the Simple Opto-Mechanical System with Fiber Bragg Gratings-Part 2: Interrogation System.

This article presents the use of a sensor with fiber Bragg grating along with an interrogation system used for monitoring the overhead lines' wire elongation. The possible interrogation methods based on adjusted filters were considered. In the experimental part, three types of fiber Bragg grating pairs, characterized by a small shift in spectra in pairs and gratings with exact matching, were examined.

Effects of homogeneous and heterogeneous changes in the lung periphery on spirometry results.

Background And Objectives: The most widespread chronic pulmonary disorders are associated with heterogeneous changes in the lung periphery and spirometry is the most commonly used test to monitor these diseases. So far only a few attempts have been undertaken to investigate the effects of lung inhomogeneity on spirometry results. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether the spirometric curve and indexes are sensitive to parallel peripheral inhomogeneities, and if the level of heterogeneity can be deduced from this test.

New Parameters Extracted from Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating Spectra for the Determination of the Refractive Index and Cut-Off Wavelength.

Tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) is a very popular fiber optic element that is used as a sensor for various physical quantities. The calculation of the refractive index of a substance surrounding the TFBG is based on its spectrum demodulation, which consists of determining a certain parameter that is correlated with the sought quantity. The most commonly used parameter is the area created by the maxima and minima of the cladding mode resonances.

Twisted tilted fiber Bragg gratings: new structures and polarization properties.

In this Letter, it has been shown that the twisting of TFBGs (tilted fiber Bragg gratings) decreases their sensitivity to the polarization of the input light. It has been proved by a theoretical simulation study that twisting the TFBG by 180° eliminates the sensitivity of the grating to input light polarization changes. We have experimentally proved that our structure produced has an 18 times lower coefficient of variation of transmission for polarization changes than the untwisted TFBG.

Temperature-insensitive simultaneous rotation and displacement (bending) sensor based on tilted fiber Bragg grating.

In this paper, we present a method for the simultaneous measurement of rotation and displacement or rotation and bending using single tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG). The insensitivity of the proposed system to temperature changes and the stretching direction of the fiber section in the sensing structure have been demonstrated. The experimentally determined sensitivities for rotation, displacement and bending are as follows: -0.

Tomographic image reconstruction via estimation of sparse unidirectional gradients.

Since computed tomography (CT) was developed over 35 years ago, new mathematical ideas and computational algorithms have been continuingly elaborated to improve the quality of reconstructed images. In recent years, a considerable effort can be noticed to apply the sparse solution of underdetermined system theory to the reconstruction of CT images from undersampled data. Its significance stems from the possibility of obtaining good quality CT images from low dose projections.

Approximate solution for optical measurements of the diameter and refractive index of a small and transparent fiber.

When a plane electromagnetic wave is scattered by an optically transparent object, whose size is much larger than the wavelength, a series of bright and dark fringes forms the primary rainbow, which is one of the most splendid phenomena in nature. In this work, an optical technique is discussed for simultaneous measurement of the diameter and refractive index of an axisymmetric and dielectric fiber by studying some rainbow features. This noncontact optical technique uses a beam of light exhibiting low temporal coherence, which enabled us to reduce the detrimental sensitivity of the rainbow features to variations of the fiber properties, thus allowing for high-precision estimates.

Analysis of the method for ventilation heterogeneity assessment using the Otis model and forced oscillations.

Increased heterogeneity of the lung disturbs pulmonary gas exchange. During bronchoconstriction, inflammation of lung parenchyma or acute respiratory distress syndrome, inhomogeneous lung ventilation can become bimodal and increase the risk of ventilator-induced lung injury during mechanical ventilation. A simple index sensitive to ventilation heterogeneity would be very useful in clinical practice.

Inverse analysis of light scattered at a small angle for characterization of a transparent dielectric fiber.

The objective of this paper is to discuss the possibility of noninvasive optical characterization of a transparent (glass) fiber by means of low-coherent light scattering. It will be shown that, by adjusting the temporal coherence of incident light, it is possible to select these specific orders of scattering, which are related to diffraction. Discussion will be devoted to the direct scattering and the inverse problem, where an inference about the diameter of a multilayered and transparent fiber is accomplished.

Inverse analysis of the rainbow for the case of low-coherent incident light to determine the diameter of a glass fiber.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the possibility of a noninvasive, optical characterization of a transparent (glass) fiber on the basis of scattered light in the vicinity of a primary rainbow. Computational studies show that with the use of a spectrally adjusted incident beam of light, it is possible to form a rainbow with no strong nonlinearities typical for coherent light and that may be interpreted in terms of Airy's theory of rainbow. An inverse analysis is applied to obtain the fiber diameter with the help of a straightforward mathematical formula based on the Airy integral, corrected by comparison with the solution according to the complex angular momentum method.

Simulation research on improved regularized solution of the inverse problem in spectral extinction measurements.

We present further results of the simulation research on the constrained regularized least squares (CRLS) solution of the ill-conditioned inverse problem in spectral extinction (turbidimetric) measurements, which we originally presented in this journal [Appl. Opt. 49, 4591 (2010)].

Near-critical-angle scattering for the characterization of clouds of bubbles: particular effects.

We report experimental investigations on the influence of various optical effects on the far-field scattering pattern produced by a cloud of optical bubbles near the critical scattering angle. Among the effects considered, there is the change of the relative refractive index of the bubbles (gas bubbles or some liquid-liquid droplets), the influence of intensity gradients induced by the laser beam intensity profile and by the spatial filtering of the collection optics, the coherent and multiple scattering effects occurring for densely packed bubbles, and the tilt angle of spheroidal optical bubbles. The results obtained herein are thought to be fundamental for the development of future works to model these effects and for the extension of the range of applicability of an inverse technique (referenced herein as the critical angle refractometry and sizing technique), which is used to determine the size distribution and composition of bubbly flows.

Preliminary study on the accuracy of respiratory input impedance measurement using the interrupter technique.

Respiratory input impedance contains information about the state of pulmonary mechanics in the frequency domain. In this paper the possibility of respiratory impedance measurement by interrupter technique as well as the accuracy of this approach are assessed. Transient states of flow and pressure recorded during expiratory flow interruption are simulated with a complex, linear model for the respiratory system and then used to calculate the impedance, including three states of respiratory mechanics and the influence of the measurement noise.

Airway and tissue loading in postinterrupter response of the respiratory system - an identification algorithm construction.

The paper offers an enhancement of the classical interrupter technique algorithm dedicated to respiratory mechanics measurements. Idea consists in exploitation of information contained in postocclusional transient states during indirect measurement of parameter characteristics by model identification. It needs the adequacy of an inverse analogue to general behavior of the real system and a reliable algorithm of parameter estimation.

Internal validation of a telemedical system for monitoring patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

One of the most promising and innovative developments in medicine are telemedical systems. The system PulmoTel 2010 and its internal validation are presented, focusing on the system architecture, hardware, software and communication solutions. PulmoTel 2010 consists of a distant server managing users and medical devices, as well as data transmission, processing, storage and presentation.

Reduction of a linear complex model for respiratory system during Airflow Interruption.

The paper presents methodology of a complex model reduction to its simpler version - an identifiable inverse model. Its main tool is a numerical procedure of sensitivity analysis (structural and parametric) applied to the forward linear equivalent designed for the conditions of interrupter experiment. Final result - the reduced analog for the interrupter technique is especially worth of notice as it fills a major gap in occlusional measurements, which typically use simple, one- or two-element physical representations.

Improved regularized solution of the inverse problem in turbidimetric measurements.

We present results of simulation research on the constrained regularized least-squares (RLS) solution of the ill-conditioned inverse problem in turbidimetric measurements. The problem is formulated in terms of the discretized Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. The inverse problem in turbidimetric measurements consists in determining particle size distribution (PSD) function of particulate system on the basis of turbidimetric measurements.

Light-transmittance predictions under multiple-light-scattering conditions. II. Inverse problem: particle size determination.

Our aim is to present the application of the hybrid method presented in part I to an inverse procedure to determine particle size and concentration under multiple-scattering conditions. The hybrid method is introduced as a combination of the four-flux method with coefficients obtained from Monte Carlo statistical simulations to take into account the actual three-dimensional geometry. Then an inversion scheme is expanded to enable the application of the hybrid method to particle size and concentration determination.

Light-transmittance predictions under multiple-light-scattering conditions. I. Direct problem: hybrid-method approximation.

Our aim is to present a method of predicting light transmittances through dense three-dimensional layered media. A hybrid method is introduced as a combination of the four-flux method with coefficients predicted from a Monte Carlo statistical model to take into account the actual three-dimensional geometry of the problem under study. We present the principles of the hybrid method, some exemplifying results of numerical simulations, and their comparison with results obtained from Bouguer-Lambert-Beer law and from Monte Carlo simulations.

Critical angle refractometry and sizing of bubble clouds.

The principle of the critical angle refractometry and sizing technique is extended to characterize the size distribution and the mean refractive index of clouds of bubbles. For a log-normal bubble-size distribution, simulations show that the mean size, the relative width of the size distribution, and the mean refractive index of the bubbles have a particular and easily identified influence on the critical scattering patterns. Preliminary experimental results on air bubble/water flows clearly demonstrate the potential and robustness of this new technique for bubbly flow characterization.

Influence of a laser beam's frequency stability on dislocation of vortex points in an optical vortex interferometer.

New applications for optical vortex interferometers (OVIs) are under investigation. The precision of the OVI depends strongly on the accuracy of positioning of the vortex points, which requires more than one interferogram (fringe pattern), so the influence of the laser beam's frequency stability is important. We present an analysis of the influence of the laser beam's frequency stabilization on the accuracy of methods locating vortex points relative to dimensions in optical arrangements of OVIs.