A system for detecting microbes is provided. In the system for detecting microbes, light is emitted to a sample through a light emission module, a sensor module detects speckles generated when the emitted light is scattered by motion of bacteria or microbes contained in the sample, and a controller stores and analyzes images detected by the sensor module to test microbial detection, wherein controller may include a light emission controller connected to the light emission module and configured to control an emission period and an emission intensity of light emitted by the light emission module; an imaging collector connected to the sensor module and configured to store a speckle image generated through multiple scattering by the bacteria or microbes contained in the sample; a corrector configured to correct a deviation caused by a difference in the amount of light when the light emission module emits the light; and an estimator configured to estimate, in real-time, presence or absences of the bacteria or microbes in the sample or a concentration of the bacteria or microbes.

A tube preparation step of preparing a resin tube that has a tube wall impregnable with a solution including a fine substance and is made of a light-transmitting resin material, a solution preparation step of preparing a solution that includes a fine fluorescent substance that emits fluorescence or a fine scattering substance that scatters light as an oscillation material and an impregnation step of causing the resin tube to be immersed in the solution and causing the tube wall of the resin tube to be impregnated with the oscillation material, are included.

An optical microcavity device (10), an alignment structure for an optical device, and a method for aligning an optical device are disclosed. The optical microcavity device (10) comprises: a first optical reflector (20); a second optical reflector (30) opposed to the first optical reflector (20) along an optical axis (40), the first and second optical reflectors (20, 30) being spaced from each other forming an open space therebetween; wherein the first optical reflector (20) comprises a first cavity reflector (22) and a first alignment reflector (24), wherein the second optical reflector (30) comprises a second cavity reflector (32) and a second alignment reflector (34), the second cavity reflector (32) comprising a recess to provide an optical microcavity between the first and second cavity reflectors (20, 30), the optical microcavity having an optical cavity length of at most 50 μm and/or an optical mode volume of 100 μm3 or less; an EM radiation source (50) configured for illuminating the optical microcavity with EM radiation (52) to cause multi-pass interference within the optical microcavity; and an alignment system configured to: illuminate the first and second alignment reflectors (24, 34) of the first and second optical reflectors (20, 30) to generate an optical interference pattern (74); detect the optical interference pattern (74); and determine a relative orientation and/or separation of the first and second optical reflectors (20, 30) based on the detected optical interference pattern (74); the alignment system further comprising an actuator system (100, 102) configured to move the first and second optical reflectors (20, 30) relative to each other to change the relative orientation and/or separation of the first and second optical reflectors (20, 30) based on the determined relative orientation and/or separation. At least one of the first and second alignment reflectors (20, 30) may comprise an alignment structure comprising at least two reflective surface portions having different angular orientations.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining the activity of coagulation factors in dilute capillary whole blood, citrated whole blood and citrated plasma. It also includes the detection of the hemoglobin amount in a whole blood sample so a correction of the clotting time can be performed thereby making the clotting time values independent of hemoglobin and hematocrit effect.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a device for measuring a turbidity of a solution containing fine particles comprises a laser module emitting a laser beam of a predetermined wavelength band, a coupler outputting the laser beam along a first laser path and a second laser path divided from each other, a probe outputting the laser beam output along the first laser path to a container containing the solution, a light receiving element receiving, through the first laser path, the laser beam reflected or scattered by the fine particles in the solution and detecting the received laser beam, and a controller calculating the turbidity based on a strength of the laser beam detected by the light receiving element.

A system structured to monitor particle contamination of different equipment or machinery categories including power pressure systems having a monitoring module. The monitoring module includes an intake structure and an exhaust structure, wherein the intake structure is connected in fluid communication with an air intake or air supply the power pressure systems being monitored. The monitoring module further includes alarm capabilities structured to communicate alarm signals to local and remote operating personnel. In addition, a particle sensor module is structured to determine predetermined particle characteristics of an air sample received from the power pressure systems. An electronic control module (ECM) is connected in on-off activating relation to the intake and exhaust structures and the particle sensor. As such, the ECM is operative to capture and analyze an air sample from the power pressure systems within said particle sensor and categorize the particle characteristics within the captured air sample as normal or abnormal dependent on levels of contamination.

Various embodiments include a scattered light smoke detector comprising: a two-color LED for emitting light of a first wavelength and a second wavelength; a photosensor spectrally matched with said two-color LED; and a control unit connected to the two-color LED and to the photosensor. The control unit is configured to control the two-color LED to emit light of the first wavelength or the second wavelength and to detect a photosensor signal of the photosensor. The control unit is further configured to analyze the photosensor signal for a first scattered radiation intensity and a second scattered radiation intensity allocated respectively to the first wavelength and the second wavelength. There is a polarizer optically connected upstream of the photosensor or downstream of the two-color LED. The polarizer polarizes light passing through at different intensities in dependence upon the respective wavelength of said light.

A device for detecting (D) at least one predetermined particle (P) includes an interferometric element (EI) arranged so as to be illuminated by an incident radiation (L.sub.in) and comprising at least one so-called thin layer (CM) disposed on top of a so-called substrate layer (Sub), the particle being attached to a surface (Sm) of the thin layer, the interferometric element (EI) forming a Fabry-Pérot cavity with or without attached particle P; a matrix sensor (Det) adapted to detect an image comprising a first portion (P.sub.1) deriving from the detection of the incident radiation transmitted (L.sub.TBG) by the interferometric element alone and a second portion (P.sub.2) deriving from the detection of the incident radiation transmitted (L.sub.TP) by the interferometric element and any particle (O, P) attached to a surface (Sm) of the thin layer; a processor (UT) linked to the sensor and configured: to calculate, as a function of wavelengths of the incident radiation λ.sub.i i∈[1,m], the variation of intensity of at least one first pixel of the first portion, called first variation (F.sub.BG) and of at least one second pixel of the second portion, called second variation (F.sub.P), to determine a trend, as a function of the wavelengths of the incident radiation λ.sub.i i∈[1,m], of a phase shift ϕ.sub.i between the first variation and the second variation; to detect the attached particle when the phase shift ϕ.sub.i is not constant as a function of the wavelengths of the incident radiation λ.sub.i i∈[1,m].

A portable air quality monitoring device is disclosed that can identify the type of particles in the air. This device takes images of particles in the air and compares them with a library of particles in its memory to identify the type of particles. The device has a housing that draws ambient air into the system and takes microscopic images of the flowing particles and droplets using flash photography. The device can be stand alone or can connect to the back of a mobile phone and use the mobile phone camera and light. People can upload their local air quality data online for all to see the local air quality.

A method of controlling an optical output power of a laser diode associated with a photodiode includes obtaining first optical trimming parameters indicative of a first optical output power of the laser diode at a first laser diode current and a second optical output power of the laser diode at a second laser diode current above lasing threshold. Next, second electrical trimming parameters indicative of a photodiode characteristic curve of photodiode current versus laser diode current are obtained. A first photodiode current and a second photodiode current at a laser diode currents below lasing threshold. A slope of a photodiode current versus laser diode current is determined. The optical output power of the laser diode above lasing threshold is controlled based on the first optical trimming parameters, the second electrical trimming parameters and the slope of the photodiode current versus laser diode current below lasing threshold.