Disclosed are apparatus, kits, methods, and systems that include a radiation source configured to direct radiation to a sample; a detector configured to measure radiation from the sample; an electronic processor configured to determine information about the sample based on the measured radiation; a housing enclosing the source, the detector, and the electronic processor, the housing having a hand-held form factor; an arm configured to maintain a separation between the sample and the housing, the arm including a first end configured to connect to the housing and a second end configured to contact the sample; and a layer positioned on the second end of the arm, the layer being configured to contact the sample and to transmit at least a portion of the radiation from the sample to the detector.

Building blocks are provided for on-chip chemical sensors and other highly-compact photonic integrated circuits combining interband or quantum cascade lasers and detectors with passive waveguides and other components integrated on a III-V or silicon. A MWIR or LWIR laser source is evanescently coupled into a passive extended or resonant-cavity waveguide that provides evanescent coupling to a sample gas (or liquid) for spectroscopic chemical sensing. In the case of an ICL, the uppermost layer of this passive waveguide has a relatively high index of refraction that enables it to form the core of the waveguide, while the ambient air, consisting of the sample gas, functions as the top cladding layer. A fraction of the propagating light beam is absorbed by the sample gas if it contains a chemical species having a fingerprint absorption feature within the spectral linewidth of the laser emission.

A urine specimen analysis device includes a specimen drawing portion, a sample preparing portion, a measurement portion, and an information processing portion. The specimen drawing portion draws a first aliquot and a second aliquot from a urine specimen. The sample preparing portion prepares a first measurement sample by mixing the first aliquot and a first staining dye that stains red blood cells, and a second measurement sample by mixing the second aliquot and a second staining dye that stains nucleic acids. The measurement portion measures fluorescence emitted from the first measurement sample prepared by the sample preparing portion, and fluorescence emitted from the second measurement sample prepared by the sample preparing portion. The information processing portion detects at least red blood cells contained in the first measurement sample based on the fluorescence of the first measurement sample measured by the measurement portion, and at least white blood cells contained in the second measurement sample based on the fluorescence of the second measurement sample measured by the measurement portion.

Methods and systems useful for machine learning assisted imaging and detection of peripheral nerves comprising reflectance imaging spectroscopy. The method can be conducted label-free and in real-time.

Systems and methods for sensing vibrational absorption induced photothermal effect via a visible light source. A Mid-infrared photothermal probe (MI-PTP, or MIP) approach achieves 10 mM detection sensitivity and sub-micron lateral spatial resolution. Such performance exceeds the diffraction limit of infrared microscopy and allows label-free three-dimensional chemical imaging of live cells and organisms. Distributions of endogenous lipid and exogenous drug inside single cells can be visualized. MIP imaging technology may enable applications from monitoring metabolic activities to high-resolution mapping of drug molecules in living systems, which are beyond the reach of current infrared microscopy.

An optical system operating in the near or short-wave infrared wavelength range identifies an object based on water absorption. The system comprises a light source with modulated light emitting diodes operating at wavelengths near 1090 and 1440 nanometers, corresponding to lower and higher water absorption. The system further comprises one or more wavelength selective filters and a housing that is further coupled to an electrical circuit and a processor. The detection system comprises photodetectors that are synchronized to the light source, and the detection system receives at least a portion of light reflected from the object. The system is configured to identify the object by comparing the reflected light at the first and second wavelength to generate an output value, and then comparing the output value to a threshold. The optical system may be further coupled to a wearable device or a remote sensing system with a time-of-flight sensor.

Apparatus and methods for analyzing single molecule and performing nucleic acid sequencing. An integrated device includes multiple pixels with sample wells configured to receive a sample, which, when excited, emits radiation; at least one element for directing the emission radiation in a particular direction; and a light path along which the emission radiation travels from the sample well toward a sensor. The apparatus also includes an instrument that interfaces with the integrated device. Each sensor may detect emission radiation from a sample in a respective sample well. The instrument includes an excitation light source for exciting the sample in each sample well.

A structured illumination microscope includes: a first illumination optical system configured to irradiate, from a first direction, a sample with activating light for activating a fluorescent substance included in the sample; a second illumination optical system configured to irradiate, from a second direction that is different from the first direction, the sample with interference fringes of exciting light for exciting the fluorescent substance; a control unit configured to control a direction and a phase of the interference fringes; an imaging optical system configured to form an image of the sample irradiated with the interference fringes; an imaging element configured to take the image formed by the imaging optical system to generate a first image; and a demodulation unit configured to generate a second image by using a plurality of the first images generated by the imaging element.

Naphthalene, benzene, toluene, xylene, and other volatile organic compounds VOCs have been identified as serious health hazards. Embodiments of the invention are directed to methods and apparatus for near-real-time in-situ detection and accumulated dose measurement of exposure to naphthalene vapor and other hazardous gaseous VOCs. The methods and apparatus employ excitation of fluorophors native or endogenous to compounds of interest using light sources emitting in the ultraviolet below 300 nm and measurement of native fluorescence emissions in distinct wavebands above the excitation wavelength. The apparatus of some embodiments are cell-phone-sized sensor/dosimeter “badges” to be worn by personnel potentially exposed to hazardous VOCs. The badge sensor of some embodiments provides both real time detection and data logging of exposure to naphthalene or other VOCs of interest from which both instantaneous and accumulated dose can be determined.

A system and a method for optical sensing of single molecule or molecules in various concentrations are provided. The optical sensor system comprises a first fiber, a second fiber, a light source and a detection device. The first fiber and the second fiber are fused together to form an optical coupler. The first fiber serves as the passageway for the analyte, while the second fiber serves as the waveguide for the light that will interact with the said analyte. One end of the second fiber is connected to the light source (e.g. laser), and the opposite end is connected to the detection device (e.g. spectrometer). The analyte is introduced into the first fiber through one of its ends, and is allowed to flow through inside the hollow core of the said first fiber. When light is delivered through the input end of the second fiber, the evanescent light is formed in the optical coupler and is allowed to interact with the analyte in the first fiber. One scenario in this analyte-light interaction results in, for example, the generation of Raman emission that is used as the probing signal. The spectrum of the Raman emission is analyzed by the detection device to determine the presence of target molecule.