Laser-induced thermoelastic effects can evoke tactile sensations

Jun, Jae-Hoon; Park, Jong-Rak; Kim, Sung-Phil; Bae, Young Min; Park, Jang‐Yeon; Kim, Hyung–Sik; Choi, Seungmoon; Jung, Sung Jun; Park, Seung Hwa; Yeom, Dong‐Il; Jung, Gu-In; Kim, Jisun; Chung, Soon−Cheol

doi:10.1038/srep11016

Cited by 46 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Responses mediated exclusively by C-fibers, an ultra-late LEP (ULEP) at a latency of about 1000 ms, can be elicited only by special methods that allow their selective activation, such as low-power heating of the skin below Aδ threshold 7,8 , pressure nerve block 9 or the stimulation of tiny skin surfaces 10 . It is not clear yet why concomitant activation of Aδ-and C-fibers does not allow the individualization of both late and ultra-late LEPs 6,11,12,13 , interestingly, depending on the intensity of stimulation, both responses can occasionally be observed 7 , also related to this issue is the recent suggestion that laser pulses may also occasionally, in special circumstances, lead to tactile sensations 14 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Activation of C-fiber nociceptors by low-power diode laser

Azevêdo

Silva

Martins

et al. 2016

Arq. Neuro-Psiquiatr.

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The criteria for diagnosis of definite neuropathic pain depend on a plausible neuroanatomic distribution of the pain, a history suggestive of somatosensory lesion or disease and at least one objective confirmatory test of the existence of such relevant somatosensory lesion or disease 1 . Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and laser evoked potentials (LEPs) are becoming "standards" to document possible involvement of the neural systems in patients with neuropathic pain: the sensitivity of LEP to small lesions on the involved pathways are conferring to it medical legal value in some European countries 2 . Although exquisitely sensitive to spinothalamic impairments, LEPs are considered as a supportive tool to diagnose small fiber neuropathies (given their poor localization value) 3. These observations suggest that the search for alternative stimulus sources to obtain LEPs, aiming to reduce the risks of complications (e.g. skin burns) and the costs of the procedure, are important to increase the availability of these exams; further, the stimulus should be able to allow separate evaluations of Aδ and C fibers.Laser heat stimulators have been extensively used to study time-locked nociception responses, as they provide a near-ideal method to selectively activate cutaneous Aδ-fiber and C-fiber nociceptors. The high power outputs of lasers, which allow fast heat ramps, concomitantly activate these two systems and produce a dual perception compatible with conduction in small myelinated Aδ and unmyelinated C fibers 4 . Cortical responses to high intensity stimulation, however, do not reflect such dual activation. Scalp recordings of LEP show a major negative-positive wave (N2-P2) in the latency range of 200-400 ms when stimulating the hand dorsum. These results have been associated with Aδ-fiber activity, AbstrACtObjective: The evaluation of selective activation of C-fibers to record evoked potentials using the association of low-power diode laser (810 nm), tiny-area stimulation and skin-blackening. Method: Laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) were obtained from 20 healthy young subjects. An aluminum plate with one thin hole was attached to the laser probe to provide tiny-area stimulation of the hand dorsum and the stimulated area was covered with black ink. Results: The mean intensity used for eliciting the ultra-late laser-evoked potential (ULEP) was 70 ± 32 mW. All subjects showed a clear biphasic potential that comprised a negative peak (806 ± 61 ms) and a positive deflection (1033 ± 60 ms), corresponding to the ULEP related to C-fiber activation. Conclusion: C-fiber-evoked responses can be obtained using a very low-power diode laser when stimulation is applied to tiny areas of darkened skin. This strategy offers a non-invasive and easy methodology that minimizes damage to the tissue.Keywords: laser-evoked potentials, C-fibers, nociception, pain perception. resumo Objetivo: Avaliação da ativação de fibras C para o registro de potenciais evocados utilizando-se laser de baixa potência, áreas pequenas de estimulação e escu...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Activation of C-fiber nociceptors by low-power diode laser

Azevêdo

Silva

Martins

et al. 2016

Arq. Neuro-Psiquiatr.

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“…For perceptual characteristics, we estimated the perceptual spaces of five stimuli (one laser, two mechanical, and two electrical) and looked at which stimulus was perceived to be most similar to the laser stimulus. It is noted that none of the above about indirect laser radiation was reported in [16]. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting that indirect laser radiation to a skin-attached elastic medium can elicit robust mechanical tactile sensations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…While optical breakdown and ablation have been the major use of lasers in applications, the laserinduced thermoelastic effect has been attracting increasing attention owing to its inherently noninvasive nature and applicability to optoacoustic imaging in biomedicine [15]. In [16], we demonstrated that a laser that is directly radiated on the skin can elicit a non-painful tactile sensation, and this phenomenon was attributed to thermoelastic effects. Experimental evidence was provided in terms of thermoelastic effect simulations, in vitro skin deformation measurements, perceptual responses, and EEG brain responses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Moreover, the strength of stimulation, which is controlled primarily by laser pulse energy, must be limited in order to avoid laserinduced skin damages and thermal effects. Therefore, instead of stimulating the skin directly [16], we have explored an alternative: indirect radiation using an elastic medium attached to the skin as the light-absorbing medium. The laser-induced elastic waves trigger the dynamic response of the elastic medium, which subsequently stimulates the skin, without causing any other laser-induced adverse effect.…”

Section: A Thermoelastic Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mid-air tactile stimulation using laser-induced thermoelastic effects: The first study for indirect radiation

Lee

Kim

Choi

et al. 2015

2015 IEEE World Haptics Conference (WHC)

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This paper reports our recent finding that a laser that is radiated on a thin light-absorbing elastic medium attached on the skin can elicit a tactile sensation of mechanical tap. Laser radiation to the elastic medium creates inner elastic waves on the basis of thermoelastic effects, which subsequently move the medium and stimulate the skin. We characterize the associated stimulus by measuring its physical properties. In addition, the perceptual identity of the stimulus is confirmed by comparing it to mechanical and electrical stimuli by means of perceptual spaces. All evidence claims that indirect laser radiation conveys a sensation of short mechanical tap with little individual difference. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that discovers the possibility of using indirect laser radiation for mid-air tactile rendering.

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“…Spatial accuracy is further enhanced but the power consumption is relatively higher (Iwamoto et al 2008;Inoue et al 2015). Laser-induced thermoelastic effect also produces free air haptics but the precise control of laser pulse timing and energy is the most critical factor in safely utilising the technology (Jun et al 2015;Hojin et al 2015).…”

Section: Duis For Basic Human Senses: Touchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards disappearing user interfaces for ubiquitous computing: human enhancement from sixth sense to super senses

Hui

Sherratt

2016

J Ambient Intell Human Comput

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The enhancement of human senses electronically is possible when pervasive computers interact unnoticeably with humans in ubiquitous computing. The design of computer user interfaces towards ''disappearing'' forces the interaction with humans using a content rather than a menu driven approach, thus the emerging requirement for huge number of non-technical users interfacing intuitively with billions of computers in the Internet of Things is met. Learning to use particular applications in ubiquitous computing is either too slow or sometimes impossible so the design of user interfaces must be naturally enough to facilitate intuitive human behaviours. Although humans from different racial, cultural and ethnic backgrounds own the same physiological sensory system, the perception to the same stimuli outside the human bodies can be different. A novel taxonomy for disappearing user interfaces (DUIs) to stimulate human senses and to capture human responses is proposed. Furthermore, applications of DUIs are reviewed. DUIs with sensor and data fusion to simulate the sixth sense is explored. Enhancement of human senses through DUIs and context awareness is discussed as the groundwork enabling smarter wearable devices for interfacing with human emotional memories.

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Laser-induced thermoelastic effects can evoke tactile sensations

Cited by 46 publications

References 44 publications

Activation of C-fiber nociceptors by low-power diode laser

Activation of C-fiber nociceptors by low-power diode laser

Mid-air tactile stimulation using laser-induced thermoelastic effects: The first study for indirect radiation

Towards disappearing user interfaces for ubiquitous computing: human enhancement from sixth sense to super senses

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