BECKMAN LASER INSTITUTE 2024 HYBRID SEMINAR SERIES

Please join us in welcoming Beckman Laser Institute’s guest seminar speaker, Christine O’Brien, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis.
 

Click here to register to attend via Zoom.

Click here to register for in-person attendance. (lunch will be served)

Abstract: While laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) was historically confined to bulky benchtop systems, research teams have recently developed hand-held and wearable laser speckle systems. For these systems to be useful in a clinical setting, hand-held devices must be lightweight and compact enough to easily lift and move around while wearable users must be able to function normally. This requires careful selection and characterization of camera and laser components; for untethered systems, this requires small and inexpensive computation and battery modules, and intentional hardware design. A wearable and wireless LSCI device that uses a two-lens design will be presented and point-of-care design considerations and tradeoffs will be discussed. 
 
In vitro and in vivo validation studies in phantoms, swine, and human subjects will demonstrate the sensitivity of the device to small blood flow changes and numerous physiologic applications for the technology will be discussed. Additionally, a patient-specific normalization strategy that provides insights on severity of peripheral vasoconstriction and skin pigmentation correction will be presented.  
 
Biography: Christine O'Brien is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis with a secondary appointment in the department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Her research is focused on developing and translating non-invasive optical spectroscopy and imaging tools to solve global problems in maternal-fetal health. Dr. O’Brien obtained her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University and completed postdoctoral training at Washington University School of Medicine in the Department of Radiology. She launched her independent research program with projects focused on the development of novel wearable sensors for the early detection of postpartum hemorrhage and novel strategies for preterm birth detection and investigation.