VOLUME 131: FALL 2015
SELF-DESTRUCTING DEVICES: A MULTIPURPOSE APPLICATION
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TECHNOSTAFF Technograph editor Abrar Al-Heeti Assistant Technograph editor Victoria Snell Editor-in-chief Megan Jones Managing editor for reporting Declan Harty Managing editor for online Miranda Holloway Creative director Torey Butner Designers Madeline Maranto Ana Rodas Juliany Nakazato Copy editors Jade Tyson Susan Szuch Lillian Barkley Writers Rabia Ilyas Publisher Lilyan Levant Web readtechnograph.com Email technograph@dailyillini.com Mail Technograph 512 E. Green St., 3rd floor Champaign, IL 61820 Phone (217) 337-8350 AN ILLINI MEDIA PUBLICATION COPYRIGHT 2015
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A CLOSER LOOK
SELF-DESRUCT
KEEPING IT COOL
Technique allows physicians to examine individual cells in eye
Researchers collaborate to develop self-destructing materials
University develops methods for power optimization
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BY RABIA ILYAS | TECHNOGRAPH WRITER
Researchers look into new techniques that help locate various ocular diseases Researchers at the University have developed a technique that may change the face of various ocular diseases. The technique, known as computational adaptive optics, allows them to examine individual cells in the back of the eye. The inspiration for the technology is built on an old-age technique called adaptive optics, which was first used in the field of astronomy. The reference was made to stars because as light initially enters the atmosphere, it gets distorted and therefore causes the eye to see the twinkle of a star. Adaptive optics corrects these
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“This new technology can be applied to any type of retinol imaging and hundreds of diseases as well.”
Dis alr As
STEPHEN BOPPART Professor of bioengineering
Wh ge yo
It i
distortions coming in the form of light waves, and serves to generate a clear image. “In the case of our eye, the imperfections are analogous to the atmosphere and we can correct the optical waves going through the eye to create a sharper image,” said Stephen Boppart, professor of bioengineering. The new technique uses a computational approach where a laser beam is scanned at the back of the eye and the light that bounces back gives information about the structure back there. As a result, individual cells are clearly depicted, which aids in diagnosing age-related macular degeneration and various neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis. The researchers, led by Boppart, corrected the aberrations in the eye computationally, through a technique known as Optical Coherence Tomography. The technique has been around for over 25 years but it has limitations, as it cannot look at individual cells in the back of the eye. As a result of this problem, Boppart, who is also a medical doctor, said, “we use the OCT system but we make sure that the data we collect can be corrected so that we can transform those blurry cells into sharp, well-defined cells in optics.” Imaging techniques like OCT and hardware adaptive optics have been used commonly in the field of medical imaging but have many constraints and drawbacks. Hardware adaptive optics, for example, have been implemented in OCT systems for a very long time, but this technique is very complicated and can cost thousands of dollars, which leaves few clinicians even using them. “Our contribution is to do those same sources of corrections without additional hardware, and we accomplish this by taking advantage of data we already have and use adaptive optics computationally,” said Fredrick South, a graduate student who is also a coauthor for the work.
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OCULAR However, as with all technology, limitations are bound to arise. Even with this computational approach, there are certain requirements that must be met to ensure accuracy. The problem with collecting data computationally arises when the data is not stable. “It is difficult to capture a high-resolution image as the eye is always moving. Therefore, we have had to develop ways to acquire data
“If we can help improve or even save someone’s vision ... then that is the most rewarding part of my research.” STEPHEN BOPPART Professor of bioengineering
quickly and also simultaneously be able to correct for any motion to get the best image out there,” Boppart said. “This has been the biggest challenge for us throughout the development of this technique, but this is also the unique aspect of our technique,” he added. It seems, however, that this technique produces far greater benefits than costs to society. The research team chose to apply this technique to macular degeneration and multiple sclerosis because of the prevalent rates of these diseases. “This new technology can be applied to any type of retinol imaging and hundreds of diseases as well,” Boppart said. South added that diabetic retinopathy, caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina, is one common disease that can be better understood and treated with Computational Adaptive Optics. There are still questions in this piece of technology that remain unanswered, though. The variety of aberrations due to different eye shapes leads researchers to question if this new technique will be successful for all eyes.
Researchers hope such questions will be answered in the near future. They are working toward the advancement of this technique by making the system more robust, more userfriendly and enabling it to automatically correct aberrations in the eye no matter where imaging of the eye is done. “We also want to make it more practical and integrate our technology into a system and develop a new product that withstands the capability,” Boppart said. Getting this product onto the market might not be too difficult for the research team, as there is already a lot of commercial interest in this piece of technology from many manufacturers. While the commercial success of this technology is satisfying, both Boppart and South agree that the humanistic aspect of this discovery is what attracts them to medical imaging. “If we can help improve or even save someone’s vision, and by doing so make a big difference in their peoples’ lives, then that is the most rewarding part of my research,” Boppart said. rilyas2@dailyillini.com
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SELF-DESTRUCT BY VICTORIA SNELL | ASSISTANT TECHNOGRAPH EDITOR
Professors’ collaboration creates materials that self-destruct under natural triggers
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magine being able to get rid of old or broken cell phones by simply popping them into the oven. Alternatively, imagine being able to recycle an old computer at the push of a button. Th at’s what collaboration between groups led by aerospace engineering professor Scott White and materials science and engineering professor John Rogers have been working on since 2008. White and his team have been developing new materials to make next generation electronics and other devices that can be programmed for destruction when they are no longer usable. “They’re new materials, so there’s nothing out there in the industry that you could point to,” White said. “But they are polymers — so commodity plastics, all those sorts of things, are similar types of materials.” From a biomedical standpoint, Rogers said devices had originally been created to dis-
solve in liquids. For example, a piece of material could be inserted into the body and programmed to dissolve over time. He said it was this idea that turned wheels for White and gave them the inspiration to expand the types of triggers that could be experimented with. “I speculate that maybe some of the chemistries and some of the materials and mechanics concepts that they have developed in that (biomedical) context could be relevant for the opposite outcome,” Rogers said. “Instead of something that heals itself — something that destroys itself, so to speak.” The materials could be programmed with a sort of trigger for when the consumer determines the device is no longer of use to them. White also mentioned environmental triggers that could be considered. “We look at devices that will destroy once they reach a certain temperature, or they are dosed with a certain wavelength of light — UV
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SELF-DESTRUCT triggering,” he said. “But we look at environmental triggers that will lead to their destruction.” Rogers explained that in some scenarios, such as in the desert, water might not be available. He said it is such cases that White is experimenting with other elements in the environment.
“You’re trying to build a material that is unstable, but yet you want it to be stable until a critical condition is reached.” SCOTT WHITE Aerospace engineering professor
Devices could range from cell phones to car sensors, but Rogers also mentioned security systems. “It can be useful from the standpoint of hardware level and security level — like military systems or industrial pieces of equipment in electronics,” Rogers said. “Or it can also be relevant for devices that are environmentally or biologically degradable.” Rogers introduced White to Garda, a military corporation that has agreed to help fund White’s project. He said he has seen similar projects among other universities and companies as well. While the project has produced promising results, White said there have been bumps along the road. “Th is is a bit of a bizarre conundrum,” White said. “You’re trying to build a material that is unstable, but yet you want it to be stable until a critical condition is reached.” White said because of this, during earlier stages of experiments, materials were destroying themselves very quickly and could not be used for a long enough period of time. He said another current issue with selfdestructing devices is the event in which
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destruction is triggered before the consumer wants it to happen. However, White said his team has been working on an active-intervention idea, where the consumer is able to have more control over when a device destructs. Rogers said people probably won’t see selfdestructing or dissolving devices in the body anytime soon, but the idea of devices being used for military and technological purposes is moving forward rapidly. White said he hopes to eventually fi nd a way to harness the material once it has destructed in order to recycle it to create new devices. The pair both agreed that each team has had its own strengths that have helped contribute to the success of self-destructing devices. “Th is is just another example from the University of highly-interdisciplinary research and what can be accomplished when that happens,” White said. “Th is specific project involves aerospace engineering, chemistry, materials science and mechanical science and engineering — all coming together on one project, and when we did that, we made tremendous progress.”
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OPTIMI University research aims to counteract overheating in mobile systems BY ABRAR AL-HEETI TECHNOGRAPH EDITOR
What can often hinder the performance of a device is overheating. Most people have experienced, a laptop overheating and then running less efficiently as a result. The fans turn on to cool the device, or it’ll shut itself off completely if it gets too hot. Now, University researchers are working to develop ways to keep mobile systems — as in trains, planes, automobiles and ships — cool and prevent overheating in the first place. The research is being done under the new Power Optimization for Electro-Thermal Systems — P.O.E.T.S. — center, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. The foundation invested $18.5 million in the center for the next five years. If those initial years are successful, it will invest the equivalent amount for five more. Oftentimes in mobile systems, electrical
components are designed to perform a certain function, and the mechanical system must mitigate whatever heat gets generated. Andrew Alleyne, director of P.O.E.T.S. and professor in Engineering, said researchers at the center are trying a different approach. “What we’re doing is from the beginning, we’re trying to co-design these systems such that the mechanical aspects of the design are considered at the same time that the electrical and power aspects of the design are considered,” he said. “It’s very much a multi-faceted systems approach.” The focus for establishing the desired efficiency thus lies in implementing modifications in the design phase. By designing the systems to handle the needed amount of cooling, Alleyne said it helps a problem that was normally an afterthought in previous designs. Researchers are also applying what Alleyne described as a novel practice, which is known
as cooperation in the system. Typically, electrical systems are run without necessarily considering thermal constraints until they are hit. When the constraints are hit, the system derates, or operates in a degrading mode where not as much power is put through. “We’re going to be co-designing and cooperating our mechanical and our electrical systems such that you would utilize the thermal budget you have in a system as a constraint for how much electrical power you apply now and in the future,” he said. “So you’re building a certain buffer and you’d modulate and throttle down your electrical system performance to observe any type of thermal constraint that you’d have.” Alleyne’s academic background is suited to the center’s mission to effectively seek out ways to merge electrical and mechanical design components in devices, as he has
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IZATION a primary appointment in mechanical engineering and a secondary appointment in electrical and computer engineering. Around 12 University personnel and 15 to 20 students will participate in the center’s work. Stanford University, Howard University and the University of Arkansas are also partnering with the University-led center. Alleyne said researchers are also working to improve currently-available designs for moving thermal power. “Right now, you can’t really steer heat that easily unless you have it in a pipe and do it in terms of mass flow like fluid, whereas with electricity, you can very easily put down wires and you can have transistors, and you can stop and start the flow of current relatively easily,” he said. A major market the center is targeting is the electric vehicle market. Alleyne said they want to increase the
total power density in vehicles by 10 to 100 times. The systems P.O.E.T.S. is developing can also apply to things such as mining and construction equipment. “The things we’re going to look at range from a kilowatt to a megawatt and beyond,” Alleyne said. The implementation of these systems will not only result in better device performance, but can also have an environmental impact by reducing fuel emissions. There are more than a dozen partner institutions and companies that will work with the center to potentially implement the systems in their products. “It’s all pretty early, but there’ll be sort of a membership process and companies will pay a fee to be members and get involved in projects,” said Phil-
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“What we’re doing is from the beginning, we’re trying to co-design these systems such that the mechanical aspects of the design are considered at the same time that the electrical and power aspects of the design are considered.” ANDREW ALLEYNE Professor of Engineering and director of P.O.E.T.S. FROM 13
POWER ip Krein, a professor of Engineering and one of the faculty researchers at P.O.E.T.S. He said there are different levels of membership, and depending on what the companies choose, they could access patents, inventions, technology and innovations from the center, among other things. The center’s contract began Aug. 1, and although a search for a permanent home is ongoing, researchers are already working in teams and exchanging ideas. Graduate students are also being brought on board. “I’m hoping that we’ll have some significant things out of the center within three years and certainly less than five,” Krein said. “But it is really new, leading-edge stuff and it will take a while to get it fully implemented.” He said one of the purposes of this center is to enable quicker progress and completion of research that may have been ongoing for decades. Alleyne said this area of research is potentially a large market financially. “I’m trying to do the market study right now, but the numbers that I’ve heard—it’s sort of in the 100-billion-dollar range,” Alleyne said. “So if we do this right, if we’re able to turn out products we could put into these mobile systems and vehicles, we envision this having a very, very high impact.” aalheet2@dailyillini.com
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