Abstract-Evaluation of cancer tissue morphology via THz spectroscopic imaging: Human lung and small intestine malignancies

Woon-Gi Yeo, Ogan Gurel, Charles L. Hitchcock, Sungchan Park, Kubilay Sertel,  Niru K.Nahar,

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350449518307862

We investigate the potential of terahertz spectroscopic imaging for assessment of malignant tissues in human lung and small intestine using a reflection-mode time-domain spectroscopy system spanning the 60 GHz–2 THz band. These two tissue groups are among the few that can be reached via an endoscopic sensor, thus potentially allowing for in-situ assessment of suspected tumors. As an initial study toward this goal, we characterized formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue blocks using a commercially-available reflection-mode time domain spectroscopy system. We verify that the measured THz responses of these tissue groups reveal key differences in their morphology, material density, and electrical properties. The spectroscopic characteristics in the THz band are contrasted with the histopathologic assessment of hematoxylin and eosin stained tissue slices to demonstrate the potential of THz spectroscopy for evaluating lung and small intestine malignancies. For both types of organ tissues, it is demonstrated that the THz images provide key discriminatory information such as tissue morphology, cancer margin, and necrotic areas in the tumor.

NSF awards $675,000 to advance Ohio State terahertz research

https://engineering.osu.edu/news/2018/01/nsf-awards-675000-advance-ohio-state-terahertz-research

Between the infrared and microwave sections of the electromagnetic spectrum, lies the terahertz window, a largely untapped portion of energy with the potential to reveal a variety of unknowns—from hidden weapons to the thickness of paint to next-generation Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis.

Faculty at The Ohio State University ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL) recently earned a total of $675,000 in research and commercialization support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to further their terahertz sensor development.

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Professor Kubilay Sertel won a three-year $450,000 NSF grant for his research proposal, “Compact Polarimetric THz Sensor for Reflectometric Imaging.”

Sertel’s commercialization efforts also received the NSF Small Business Innovation Research grant for $225,000 to develop automated and non-invasive testing of high frequency integrated circuits, spearheaded by his startup TeraProbes, Inc.

Kubilay Sertel, Nandhini Srinivasan and Niru Nahar

Regarding these separate research efforts, Sertel said the NSF funding will help his team advance polarimetric terahertz-frequency next-generation imaging by developing a compact and portable sensor for studying brain tissue, ultimately demonstrating an alternative imaging modality for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

Sertel’s team previously validated the need for such a polarimetric sensor through the work of ESL Graduate Research Associate Nandhini Srinivasan, whose proposal won third-place at the 2017 IEEE APS/URSI San Diego Symposium Student Paper Contest.

“We conducted the initial study to validate the hypothesis that the elongated structures in the human brain are actually polarization sensitive. Now, we have to make a stand-alone sensor that can differentiate both polarizations, simultaneously, in a terahertz signal reflecting from a human tissue sample,” Sertel said. “That’s the ultimate goal, to identify the features and boundaries between the different components of human tissue.”

Joining Sertel on this team is Ohio State Research Assistant Professor Niru Nahar and former Ohio State pathology professor Norman Lehman, now at the University of Louisville, where he will continue his collaboration.

“Dr. Lehman is going to provide the tissue samples and the associated microscope images,” Sertel said.

The team proposes creating a fully-polarimetric THz sensor and associated THz-spectroscopic polarimetry tools, which they say will “usher in new sensing and imaging applications in the much-needed areas of biomedical sensing, chemical spectroscopy and pharmaceutical evaluation, to name a few."

Once it is fully developed, Sertel said, an entirely new modality for THz spectroscopy and imaging is possible, for the first time, by harnessing the polarization properties of THz waves. The proposed work creates a laboratory-scale spectroscopy tool that can be incorporated into the academic curriculum to serve as a hands-on experimentation and training testbed to inspire students to pursue an education in the STEM fields.

Meanwhile, the NSF Small Business Innovation Research grant is scheduled to assist Sertel’s commercialization activity for TeraProbes, Inc., as it seeks to transform the current electronics chip testing industry, opening up new research areas and offering an immediate benefit to the entire semiconductor industry.

The first phase of NSF funding for TeraProbes, Sertel said, includes the creation of a Business Development Commercialization Strategy, as well as research to create the fully-automated version of TeraProbes’ non-contact probe station.

TeraProbes, Inc. fabricated three probe stations through a seed grant from the State of Ohio Department of Development. These units were transferred to other universities, such as Arizona State University and are on loan to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in Boulder, CO.

“Each unit is being evaluated in the industry to see how it impacts key issues in their work,” Sertel said.

The NSF SBIR funding also enables TeraProbes to hire two new team members and work with processional design engineering teams at the Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME)—a manufacturing, engineering and commercialization center at Ohio State.

Contributed by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Abstract-Terahertz Imaging and Electromagnetic Model of Axon Demyelination in Alzheimer's Disease

 Woon-Gi Yeo,   Ogan Gurel,  Nandhini Srinivasan,  Paul D. King,  Niru K. Nahar,  Sungchan Park,   Norman L. Lehman,  Kubilay Sertel,

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8022950/

We investigate the utility of terahertz (THz) spectroscopy in identifying Alzheimer's disease in human brain tissue. Using reflection-mode time-domain THz spectroscopy, two-dimensional images of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue samples of the hippocampus area were recorded in the 60 GHz–2 THz band. The THz images were compared with microscopic images of the same samples after hematoxylin and eosin staining. We demonstrate that the THz reflection spectra, particularly from white matter, reveal detectable differences between postmortem brain tissues exhibiting Alzheimer's disease and normal controls. The THz reflectivity of white matter areas was on average 4.2% higher than that of gray matter regions in tissue samples with known Alzheimer's history, whereas for normal control samples the contrast was only 2%. Additional studies further enhance this hypothesis, and the demyelination of white matter in Alzheimer's tissues suggests a possible cause for the differences in the THz reflection spectra. We also compare the THz response of the tissues with conventional Luxol-fast blue staining to demonstrate the correlation between the two methods for predicting demyelination. In addition, we present a simplified electromagnetic model of white matter axons exhibiting various degrees of demyelination to further support this hypothesis through full-wave electromagnetic simulations. This study offers, for the first time, proof of concept for the feasibility of detecting Alzheimer's disease using THz spectroscopy on ex vivo samples.

HELIOS Lab : Enabling Terahertz Research Across Ohio

Inside the The Ohio State University HELIOS Laboratory, assistant professor Kubilay Sertel cracks open a suitcase on the floor and retrieves a black metal object from inside.

“This is a Terahertz camera. The world’s first Terahertz camera,” he said. “This is how the HELIOS Lab came to be – with our research from five or six years ago, spinning out into a business, and then attracting the state of Ohio’s attention to support us.”

The imaging camera he developed for Traycer Diagnostic Systems has numerous applications in both medical and security realms. The device allows doctors to measure patient skin hydration levels in real time. It also provides for less invasive security screenings at airports, and helps pilots land safely in white-out or brown-out conditions. For consumers, the invention provides high-resolution subsurface imaging for packaging and quality control. The technology is even helping scientists detect specific molecules and gases in outer space.

Back in 2010, the Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering, an Ohio Third Frontier program, gave Ohio State $3 million to establish the Hyperspectral Engine Lab for Integrated Optical Systems, or HELIOS.

Today, Sertel said, the focus of HELIOS remains dedicated toward fostering and encouraging ongoing research in the relatively uncharted realms of the terahertz spectrum (a wavelength that lies in the gap between microwaves and infrared light).

Located on Kinnear Road in Columbus, HELIOS is part of the larger Ohio State ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL) complex, a major center-of-excellence in the university’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. ESL is one of the largest radio frequency and optics research laboratories in the world. Since 1942, its researchers have consistently maintained a national and international preeminence in electromagnetics.

Over the past five years, HELIOS has been utilizing Ohio’s resources to continually help academia and industry alike develop smaller, faster and lower-powered terahertz devices.

“We are ready and here for anyone who wants to do terahertz and millimeter wave characterizations. We have spectroscopy or imaging capabilities; any type of device or tissue characterization,” Niru Nahar said, HELIOS operational manager and Ohio State research assistant professor.

Watch a short video of Sertel and Nahar explaining the history and capabilities of the HELIOS Lab: http://go.osu.edu/helios

Sertel said the lab holds over $3 million in technical equipment, which industries and small businesses can utilize for terahertz and millimeter wave research applications that apply to imaging, spectroscopy, sensing, communications and integrated circuits.

“The idea is to have these in one place so small businesses that are developing sensors – particularly in the optical and high radio frequency range – can come and use the laboratory instrumentation at a fraction of the cost it would require for them to acquire this equipment themselves,” he said.

HELIOS research, Sertel said, remains dedicated to creating “the next-generation of electronics, with high speed transistors and integrated circuits.”

He said the technology is helping to open the door to future technological advancements in communication systems, on-chip antennas, terahertz frequency transistors, biomedical imaging, and new sensor development.

For more information, visit the HELIOS lab website at http://www.helios.osu.edu

Ohio State spinoff TeraProbes seeks to disrupt chip-testing market

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http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/10/ohio-state-spinoff-teraprobes-seeks-to-disrupt.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+columbus_blog+%28Columbus+Biz+Insider%29&page=2

Ohio State University

Kubilay Sertel says he's come up with a faster, cheaper process for testing silicon computer chips.

Carrie Ghose

Staff reporter-Columbus Business First

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An Ohio State University spinoff is using part of a $100,000 Ohio Third Frontier grant to build more prototypes for a try-it-you'll-like-it approach to disrupting a monopoly in testing silicon computer chips.

TeraProbes Inc. has one working prototype and will build two more of a system that uses terahertz waves, which are just below infrared in frequency, to send and receive signals to test the performance of tiny transistors on the silicon wafers. It will then lend those to prospective customers.

A single vendor now controls the market for the testing, said Kubilay Sertel, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.

"We're trying to disrupt that," he said, with a process that's faster, cheaper and doesn't damage the chips themselves as the current method does.

It sounds like going from monks with fountain pens to a photocopier: Today, a Ph.D. researcher uses a physical probe, just 25 microns across, to touch the chip under a microscope, on specialized vibration-control equipment. Both probe and chip typically are damaged by the contact.

"Our system, you can set it up on your coffee table," Sertel said. "It's much quicker. It can be completely automated."

Ohio State on Friday named Sertel the early career innovator of the year in its annual research awards. Innovator of the year was Dr. Ali Rezai, a neurosurgeon who has pioneered methods of deep brain stimulation and started many spinoff device companies. The student innovator is David Maung, a doctoral student in computer science and engineering who developed a video game for use in physical therapy for paralysis in one side of the body.

Sertel's research in terahertz imaging also formed the base technology for the camera-like device of Traycer Systems Inc., which has attracted some $7.5 million in investor support. He does not have a stake or active role in that company.

Sertel is president of TeraProbes, which will be able to collect the Third Frontier grant awarded in June, when the licensing deal with Ohio State gets finalized in the next few weeks.

The executive team, two university faculty and a doctoral student, are trying to recruit one of their business advisers as CEO.

The company has projected $6 million in revenue within three years.

"The TeraProbes concept should enable faster quality testing and lower cost and should be available at a time when the market demand is increasing," outside evaluators said in a report to the Third Frontier Commission.

Ohio State University Scientists Collaborate on $3 Million MURI: Devices and Architectures for Terahertz Electronics

Prof. Berger, Prof. Rajan, Dr. Sertel and Prof. Volakis

The Ohio State University has been selected by the Office of Naval Research for a large Multi-University Research Initiative (MURI) grant to establish a new research program, DATE (III-N Devices and Architectures for TerahertzElectronics). The DATE program will explore the use of ultra fast gallium nitride semiconductor devices at unprecedented high frequencies above one terahertz. Electrical and Computer Engineering professors and scientistsKubilay Sertel, John Volakis, Paul Berger, and Siddharth Rajan are part of this project. The Ohio State team is budgeted to receive $3 million in funding over five years and will work together with the lead institution, University of Notre Dame, and two other universities. Rajan leads the OSU team in this effort.

The objective of the project is to exploit nanoscale control of semiconductors, and new circuit and antenna structures to enable revolutionary applications in ultra-high speed communication, sensing, and imaging. This project builds upon established expertise at Ohio State in the emerging topics of high-performance gallium nitride materials and devices and terahertz technologies, and is the third such MURI grant to be awarded to Ohio State in the area of gallium nitride materials devices in the last four years. It will also leverage work being done in an existing Wright Center, the Hyperspectral Engine Lab for Integrated Optical Systems (HELIOS), which is led by Volakis and focuses on terahertz imaging.