Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2, a highly contagious respiratory virus that has caused a global pandemic. Despite the urgent need for effective diagnostic screening technologies, ideal methods for COVID-19 detection have not yet been developed. To address this issue, we developed a Raman spectroscopy technique for rapid and sensitive on-site detection of SARS-CoV-2, utilizing the unique spectral fingerprint of molecular vibrations. The proposed technique is non-invasive and label-free that enables the detection of molecular vibrations, providing a unique spectral fingerprint for different molecules. Raman spectra from 75 positive and 75 negative swab samples were analyzed, processed by smoothening and baseline correction of spectral data. The peaks in the processed data were detected and assigned based on literature peak, with peaks specific to positive samples used for detection with minimal false positives. These peaks were attributed to various molecules, including amino acids in proteins, glycoproteins, lipids, and protein structures. Our Raman spectroscopy technique provides a reliable and non-invasive approach for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, with potential to expand to other infectious agents. This method has significant implications for global health, aiding in effective control measures against COVID-19.
Venepuncture is one of the most crucial processes in many medical procedures. However, finding a real-time and vibrant visualization of the vein structures faces many difficulties. Several devices were introduced to solve this problem, yet, these devices shared common drawbacks, primarily when visualizing deep veins or veins in a thicker tissue of the human body. This study proposes a novel method for visualizing vein structures using a near-infrared (NIR) imaging technique enhanced with Hessian ridge detection. Several factors, including the wavelength of NIR light, square LED and ring LED arrangement and the effect of the diffuser and number of LEDs, were evaluated in the study. This study improves the overall quality of the acquired vein images and highlights the vein-morphological structure through image processing techniques. The study’s main aim is to achieve the highest number of visible veins. Based on the optical window, the maximum absorption range in the NIR spectrum was found from 700 to 950 nm. The NIR light absorption of human deoxygenated blood in the vein was highest at 850 nm peak of wavelength. The image processing further enhances the vein image by highlighting the extracted vein. The study also suggests that the square LED arrangements of NIR illumination are much more robust than the ring LED arrangement in ensuring excellent light penetration. The light diffuser further adds promising effects to the NIR illumination process. In terms of the square LED arrangement, increasing the square LED for enlarging the illumination area did not show any degradation effects in the visualization process. Overall, this paper presents an integrated hardware and software solution for the NIR image acquisition of a vein visualization system to cope with the image visualization of the vein for a thicker part of the human tissue, particularly on the arm and palm area.
Human blood specimen contains information about health and possible diseases that help the physician identifying the appropriate medical diagnosis. Venepuncture and intravenous cannulation are among the most common medical procedures that were performing on patients. However, there is difficulty to find the visualization of vein structures. The use of infrared radiation will be the right preference since it can penetrate the tissue and a non-invasive method. Many studies have focused on the characteristics of NIR on human skin, but the effects of exposure time as one of the design parameter in NIR exposure was not discovered. This research proposes studies that ease the handling operation and minimize the operating cost of NIR imaging in visualizing vein-structure. The study aims to measure and compare the effect of exposure time of the near infrared light emitting diodes on the vein visualization. The working principle is started with the haemoglobin in the blood absorbs the infrared light, so the vein appears darker than other areas. Then, a detection system consists of an infrared camera to capture the vein digital images. This study will then process the overall quality of the images with different exposure time by highlighting the vein-morphological structure using hessian and contrast method. The results revealed that increasing time of exposure does not increase the absorption of the NIR in both palm and arm area. Image processing further confirms this result by showing the extracted and highlighted vein. For all images, the numbers of vein appeared are the most significant factors that contribute to the vein visualization. This study can add to the process of developing a vein visualization system.
This study investigates the effects of Gamma-irradiation on the structural, morphological and optical properties of 3,16-bis(tri isopropyl silylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS Pentacene) organic semiconductor films. The TIPS Pentacene thin films were irradiated at 10 to 300 kGy at a dose rate of 1.58 kGy/hr. The films were characterized using X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The XRD analysis showed that the pre-irradiated thin films were of crystalline structure, indicating a broad wave diagram. The XRD and AFM results show that these variations can be attributed to the radiation-induced local heating and microscopic atomic mobility. Based on the UV-Vis results, the thin films exhibit approximately 70% optical transmittance in the visible region at pre-irradiation. At post-irradiation, optical transmittance decreased to 55% at the maximum absorbed dose. The corresponding optical bandgap decreased from 1.87 to 1.50 eV after a total ionizing dose of 300 kGy. The findings showed that TIPS Pentacene thin film has good mitigation towards gamma irradiation and can withstand harsh radiation while retaining its semiconductor properties. It is a potential candidate for flexible electronics for space applications.
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