
NSF Org: |
TI Translational Impacts |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | August 21, 2015 |
Latest Amendment Date: | July 3, 2019 |
Award Number: | 1534701 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Benaiah Schrag
bschrag@nsf.gov (703)292-8323 TI Translational Impacts TIP Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships |
Start Date: | September 1, 2015 |
End Date: | May 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $750,000.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,113,353.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2016 = $10,000.00 FY 2017 = $165,999.00 FY 2018 = $179,354.00 FY 2019 = $8,000.00 |
History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
150 LUCIUS GORDON DR WEST HENRIETTA NY US 14586-9687 (585)360-9339 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
150 Lucius Gordon Dr Ste 115 West Henrietta NY US 14586-9687 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | SBIR Phase II |
Primary Program Source: |
01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001718DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001819DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.084 |
ABSTRACT
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will explore the applicability of a Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy (GD-OCM) instrument to image and evaluate optical materials as part of the manufacturing process. The immediate broader impact of this project is to effectively provide both qualitative and quantitative information about product quality in manufacturing, with an initial focus on contact lens manufacturing. Providing high-speed, industrial, micrometer-level resolution in all three dimensions, GD-OCM enables contact lens manufacturers to replace multiple inspection steps with a single measurement done automatically, reducing the opportunity for damaging the samples and human error, and ultimately leading to increased productivity and yield. The resulting improvements in contact lens performance and extended wear effects are poised to have a positive impact on a significant percentage of the population. Recent evaluations of GD-OCM have indicated its ability to provide a new wealth of characterization methods for quality control of various materials that are otherwise impossible to characterize nondestructively, including gradient refractive index polymers, glass and layered structures. Additionally, GD-OCM will enable new advances in a wide variety of scientific fields via its capability to non-invasively optically section samples of a variety of material types.
The objective of this Phase II project is to establish the effectiveness of the emerging GD-OCM technology for nondestructive on-line metrology of contact lenses in manufacturing. Quality control and detection of product-significant defects, and a corresponding increase in production yield, represent the value proposition for the introduction of GD-OCM instrumentation into the contact lens production environment. The project will result in two major outcomes: 1) implementation of a robust production-environment instrument to effectively provide micrometer-level resolution in all three dimensions and quantification of yield-relevant contact lens quality metrics not previously available in a single instrument; and 2) demonstration of the technology for inspection in a production environment to rapidly and accurately monitor defects and quantify contact lens quality using product relevant metrics. This nondestructive, on-line optical inspection system can have significant impact not only on the process control and thereby yield of contact lenses, but also in manufacturing of layered materials in general, including polymers, plastics, and glass. Longer-term, the technology offers new paths for tissue imaging, guided surgery, and monitoring of eye disease.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The goal of this Phase II project was to develop a robust Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy (GDOCM) instrument that can be used in an industrial or research setting for noninvasive and nondestructive imaging at the microscopic level. There is a strong need for rapid, nondestructive inspection of materials in manufacturing, and for noninvasive imaging of biological samples at the cellular level. State-of-the-art interferometric instruments yield excellent resolution in depth, discriminating between different layers within a volume, but are limited in lateral resolution; optical microscopy offers high lateral resolution, but cannot characterize the features that are beneath the surface of the sample. GDOCM combines the advantages of these two techniques - interferometry and microscopy - to produce unparalleled three-dimensional resolution throughout the volume of the sample being imaged.
The primary outcome of this Phase II research is the demonstration of a robust and accurate GDOCM instrument for use in subsurface imaging and detection of defects and other microscopic features in manufactured and biological materials. Specifically, the hardware prototype and the accompanying software tools for 3D imaging with microscopic resolution were developed, built and assembled. The resulting compact, robust prototype was tested on a variety of biological and industrial samples, including zebrafish and contact lenses. Numerical tools for 3D visualization and image processing provided quantitative extraction of relevant parameters from the 3D image data.
Intellectual Merit: With the unique and advanced capability of the GDOCM technology, we gained knowledge in various materials and 3D structures tested during Phase II, including contact lenses and biological specimens. We demonstrated in this research the effectiveness and versatility of GDOCM in the acquisition of near-real-time information for use in guiding the optimization of manufacturing parameters for optimal and repeatable outcomes. When applied to tissue engineering, GDOCM can inform on the structural integrity of the tissue and monitor its growth, and has the potential to be used in clinical settings for imaging-guided surgery.
The broader impact of this project is to effectively provide information about product quality during the manufacturing process of materials, including layered materials, through a robust and reliable instrument to be used in industrial environments. A fast, nondestructive inspection with GD-OCM enables improved material quality and increased yield in manufacturing, where often the inspection stage is the bottleneck of the entire production process. Besides manufacturing, GDOCM also finds application in research in life sciences, where the instrument has the potential to offer fast, cellular-resolution imaging in 3D. The ability to noninvasively follow the progression of a disease opens new paradigms for understanding disease processes, for developing new drugs, and also for early diagnosis and management of, specifically, various skin and eye conditions. When applied to clinical research, this emerging technology can provide insight into the mechanisms of infection and the progression of eye disease leading to blindness, opening the way to future treatment directions.
Last Modified: 03/23/2020
Modified by: Cristina Canavesi
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