Efficient 2.96 microm dysprosium-doped fluoride fibre laser pumped with a Nd:YAG laser operating at 1.3 microm.

A quasi-continuous wave Dy(3+)-doped ZBLAN fibre laser pumped by a ~1.3 microm Nd:YAG laser and operating at 2.96 microm with an emission linewidth of ~14 nm (FWHM) has been demonstrated.

Possible therapeutic use of vasodilator iontophoresis.

Background: Investigation into the effects of a novel vasodilator delivery method (for the eventual treatment of scleroderma related digital ulceration) on healthy controls is reported. When Raynaud's phenomenon (episodic cold-induced colour changes of the fingers) occurs in the context of scleroderma, it can be extremely severe, leading to ulceration and sometimes gangrene. The current treatment of choice for scleroderma-related critical digital ischaemia and/or ulceration is intravenous prostanoid therapy, necessitating hospitalisation.

Lateralisation of nociceptive processing in the human brain: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Nociceptive processing within the human brain takes place within two distinct and parallel systems: the lateral and medial pain systems. Current knowledge indicates that the lateral system is involved in processing the sensory-discriminative aspects of pain, and that the medial system is involved in processing the affective-motivational aspects of pain. Hemispheric differences in brain activation (lateralisation) during nociceptive processing were studied to further clarify the division of function between the lateral and medial pain systems.

Comparison of red and green laser doppler imaging of blood flow.

Background And Objectives: Laser Doppler imaging (LDI) of perfusion has been performed with a novel green wavelength (532 nm) for comparison with a HeNe laser (633 nm), the aim being validation of the green laser wavelength as a research tool.

Study Design/materials And Methods: The effect of wavelength and power on images was investigated and perfusion response following both finger occlusion and local heating of the dorsum were examined as reproducible stimuli for clinical studies.

Results: The most striking difference between red and green LDI is the absence of veins on green LDI, which are seen with red LDI.

Comparison of thermography and laser Doppler imaging in the assessment of Raynaud's phenomenon.

The main objective of the study was to compare the techniques of thermographic and laser Doppler imaging in the assessment of digital blood flow. Thermography measures surface temperature; laser Doppler measures microciculatory flow. Seventeen healthy control subjects and 40 patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (7 primary, 33 secondary to systemic sclerosis) underwent a 20-min acclimatization period at 23 degrees C.

High-peak-power operation of a Q-switched Tm3+-doped silica fiber laser operating near 2 microm.

A peak output power of greater than 4.1 kW and a pulse duration at FWHM of 150 ns have been obtained in a Q-switched Tm3+-doped silica fiber laser in the wavelength region near 2 microm when the laser was pumped with a Nd:YAG laser operating at 1.319 microm.

Sequence lasing in a gain-switched Yb3+,Er(3+)-doped silica double-clad fiber laser.

Experimental results relating to the gain-switched operation of a double-clad Yb3+,Er(3+)-doped silica fiber laser that is pulse pumped with the output from a flash-lamp-pumped Ti:sapphire laser are presented. For all the configurations of the fiber laser that we studied, the 2F5/2-->2F7/2 laser transition of the Yb3+ ion lased prior to laser emission from the 4I13/2-->4I15/2 transition of the Er3+ ion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported operation of sequence lasing in the Yb3+,Er(3+)-codoped system.