We present a novel method, based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), for the simultaneous distributed measurement of fast strain variations along the entire length of the sensing fiber. A specially synthesized and adaptable probe wave is used to place the Brillouin interaction always on the slope of the local Brillouin gain spectrum, allowing a single pump pulse to sample fast strain variations along the full length of a fiber with an arbitrary distribution of the Brillouin frequency shift. In this early demonstration of the method, strain vibrations of a few hundred Hz are demonstrated, simultaneously measured on two different sections of an 85 m long fiber, having different static Brillouin shifts and with a spatial resolution of 1.5 m.

A new technique for the fast implementation of Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA) is proposed and demonstrated, carrying the classical BOTDA method to the dynamic sensing domain. By using a digital signal generator which enables fast switching among 100 scanning frequencies, we demonstrate a truly distributed and dynamic measurement of a 100 m long fiber with a sampling rate of ~10 kHz, limited only by the fiber length and the frequency granularity. With 10 averages the standard deviation of the measured strain was ~5 µε.

We report a Brillouin-based fully distributed and dynamic monitoring of the strain induced by a propagating mechanical wave along a 20 m long composite strip, to which surface a single-mode optical fiber was glued. Employing a simplified version of the Slope-Assisted Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (SA-BOTDA) technique, the whole length of the strip was interrogated every 10 ms (strip sampling rate of 100 Hz) with a spatial resolution of the order of 1m. A dynamic spatially and temporally continuous map of the strain was obtained, whose temporal behavior at four discrete locations was verified against co-located fiber Bragg gratings. With a trade-off among sampling rate, range and signal to noise ratio, kHz sampling rates and hundreds of meters of range can be obtained with resolution down to a few centimeters.

A small modification of the fast and distributed slope-assisted Brillouin time domain analysis (SA-BOTDA) method allows it to easily implement pump-power independent measurements of strain and/or temperature, using the ratio between readings taken on both slopes of the Brillouin gain spectrum. Employing this new double SA-BOTDA measurement technique, fast (∼100 Hz at ∼1-kHz effective sampling rate) strain measurements are shown to be immune to pump pulse power variations as large as 6 dB. At the expense of halving the sampling rate, this technique still maintains all the benefits of its SA-BOTDA predecessor. In particular, its ability to handle (Brillouin) longitudinally inhomogeneous fibers is demonstrated.

Mucositis, a painful and debilitating condition, is a common side effect of chemotherapy. The role of tramadol in the treatment of mucositis in pediatric patients has not yet been determined. In this retrospective study, we evaluate whether tramadol as single agent achieved a reduction of pain intensity among oncologic children admitted for mucositis. In total, 34 of 54 (63%) episodes were treated with tramadol alone and achieved adequate pain relief. Tramadol’s side effects were mild and manageable.

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