Warren Warren | Duke University (original) (raw)

Papers by Warren Warren

Research paper thumbnail of High-resolution indirect pulse shaping by parametric transfer

Optics Letters, 2002

The phase and amplitude profile of a shaped pulse in the visible is transferred to a pulse in the... more The phase and amplitude profile of a shaped pulse in the visible is transferred to a pulse in the near-infrared via an optical parametric amplification (OPA) process. Complex shaped pulses, such as multiple-pulse trains and pulses with high-order phase chirp, are produced at 1.2 mm. Theoretical conditions necessary for highfidelity parametric shape transfer are discussed. Similar schemes can be implemented for other OPA systems pumped at near-infrared wavelengths to generate high-resolution shaped pulses in the mid-infrared.

Research paper thumbnail of High-resolution in vivo imaging of blood vessels without labeling

Optics Letters, 2007

We demonstrate that both oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin have sequential two-color, two-photon ... more We demonstrate that both oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin have sequential two-color, two-photon absorption properties that can serve as endogenous contrasts in microvasculature imaging. Using a sensitive modulation transfer technique, we are able to image hemoglobin in red blood cells with micrometer resolution, both in vitro and in vivo. We show that excellent contrast from hemoglobin without any labeling can be obtained in tissue.

Research paper thumbnail of Two-photon absorption and self-phase modulation measurements with shaped femtosecond laser pulses

Optics Letters, 2005

We show that phase-sensitive detection of spectral hole refilling can yield information about sel... more We show that phase-sensitive detection of spectral hole refilling can yield information about self-phase modulation and two-photon absorption coefficients. We expect that, when applied to tissue microscopy, this technique will allow the study of endogenous molecular markers beneath the surface, even if those markers are nonfluorescent.

Research paper thumbnail of Two-color, two-photon, and excited-state absorption microscopy

Journal of Biomedical Optics, 2007

We develop a new approach in imaging nonfluorescent species with two-color two-photon and excited... more We develop a new approach in imaging nonfluorescent species with two-color two-photon and excited state absorption microscopy. If one of two synchronized mode-locked pulse trains at different colors is intensity modulated, the modulation transfers to the other pulse train when nonlinear absorption takes places in the medium. We can easily measure 10(-6) absorption changes caused by either two-photon absorption or excited-state absorption with a RF lock-in amplifier. Sepia melanin is studied in detail as a model system. Spectroscopy studies on the instantaneous two-photon absorption (TPA) and the relatively long-lived excited-state absorption (ESA) of melanin are carried out in solution, and imaging capability is demonstrated in B16 cells. It is found that sepia melanin exhibits two distinct excited states with different lifetimes (one at 3 ps, one lasting hundreds of nanoseconds) when pumped at 775 nm. Its characteristic TPA/ESA enables us to image its distribution in cell samples with high resolution comparable to two-photon fluorescence microscopy (TPFM). This new technique could potentially provide valuable information in diagnosing melanoma.

Research paper thumbnail of Mitochondrial NADH as the Bellwether of Tissue O 2 Delivery

It is proposed that the redox state of mitochondrial NADH1 will complement blood gas analysis for... more It is proposed that the redox state of mitochondrial NADH1 will complement blood gas analysis for measuring the health and welfare of human tissues. Use of arterial oxygen saturation levels (SaO2), especially as assayed by the Nellcor instrument, has spread almost everywhere in medicine despite the fact that hypoxia of internal organs, liver, kidney, brain, pancreas, etc. is not well indicated by peripheral digital oxygenation. Indeed, there is an implied liability in the failure to infer central oxygenation from peripheral values. Near infrared (NIR) sensing of deep tissue saturation of hemoglobin (StO2) requires multi-wavelength, multi-site measurement of both absorption and scattering properties by time or frequency domain NIR methods. Corrections for underlying water and lipid absorptions can be made so that the correct value for, and saturation oh hemoglobin are obtained. Nevertheless, the significance of blood oxygen saturation, even localized to particular organs, can be questioned from the standpoint of what is the critical value of the desaturation from which the tissue can recover2; for example, in the case of cortical neurons where stroke, compression ischemia, etc. cause O2 lack, this value becomes of significant clinical importance in both the brain and the spinal chord. These approaches are actively pursued and the possibility of subsurface redox state measurement in human tissues may eventually emerge as the quantitative metric of tissue metabolic state and of hypoxic stress. The great flexibility and versatility of the fast, economical and “tetherless” nature of opto-electronic technology is appropriate to the manifold challenges of neuronal function as currently measured by intrinsic signals and soon to be studiable by extrinsic signals of metabolism and electrophysiological functions.

Research paper thumbnail of Ultrafast measurement of two-photon absorption by loss modulation

Optics Letters, 2002

We demonstrate a direct and sensitive technique for measuring two-photon absorption (TPA). An int... more We demonstrate a direct and sensitive technique for measuring two-photon absorption (TPA). An intensitymodulated femtosecond laser beam passes through a sample exhibiting TPA. A TPA signal at twice the modulation frequency is then generated and subsequently measured by a lock-in amplifier. The absolute TPA cross section of Rhodamine 6G at 800 nm is found to be ͑15.3 6 2.0͒ 3 10 250 cm 4 s͞photon and agrees well with previously published results obtained with much higher intensity [J. Chem. Phys. 112, 9201 (2000)]. Our method may be especially useful in measuring nonlinear absorptions of nonf luorescent materials.

Research paper thumbnail of Role of Pulse Phase and Direction in Two-Dimensional Optical Spectroscopy

Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 1999

... Jonas and co-workers have also recently considered the issue of phase shift versus pulse dela... more ... Jonas and co-workers have also recently considered the issue of phase shift versus pulse delay for linearly polarized light 9 from a rather different perspective. They distinguish between phase shifts in the time domain and phase shifts in the frequency domain. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Relative-phase ambiguities in measurements of ultrashort pulses with well-separated multiple frequency components

Journal of The Optical Society of America B-optical Physics, 2003

Ultrashort-pulse characterization techniques, such as the numerous variants of frequency-resolved... more Ultrashort-pulse characterization techniques, such as the numerous variants of frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) and spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction, fail to fully determine the relative phases of well-separated frequency components. If well-separated frequency components are also well separated in time, the cross-correlation variants (e.g., XFROG) succeed, but only if short, wellcharacterized gate pulses are used.

Research paper thumbnail of Femtosecond Phase-Coherent Two-Dimensional Spectroscopy

Science, 2003

Femtosecond phase-coherent two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy has been experimentally demonstrated... more Femtosecond phase-coherent two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy has been experimentally demonstrated as the direct optical analog of 2D nuclear magnetic resonance. An acousto-optic pulse shaper created a collinear three-pulse sequence with well-controlled and variable interpulse delays and phases, which interacted with a model atomic system of rubidium vapor. The desired nonlinear polarization was selected by phase cycling (coadding experimental results obtained with different interpulse phases). This method may enhance our ability to probe the femtosecond structural dynamics of macromolecules.

Research paper thumbnail of Ultrafast pulse shaping: amplification and characterization

Optics Express, 1998

We demonstrate high-resolution amplified pulse shaping using an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) at ... more We demonstrate high-resolution amplified pulse shaping using an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) at a center-wavelength of 795nm. The output pulses have energy of 200µJ/pulse and a transform-limited pulsewidth of 150fs. A spectral modulation of over 40 features is achieved in a single pulse. We characterize the pulses using the STRUT (Spectrally and Temporally Resolved Upconversion Technique). Using predistortion techniques, we demonstrate that the pulses can be shaped in amplitude and phase. We create a complex pulse shape with hyperbolic secant amplitude and hyperbolic tangent frequency sweep, which is useful for applications in adiabatic rapid passage experiments.

Research paper thumbnail of Rapid ultrafine-tunableoptical delay line at the 1.55-mm wavelength

Optics Letters, 1998

A fast, ultrafine-tunable delay line at 1550 nm is demonstrated by use of acousto-optic pulse sha... more A fast, ultrafine-tunable delay line at 1550 nm is demonstrated by use of acousto-optic pulse shaping. Delays of up to 30 ps can be achieved without any optical readjustment. The delay is linear to the rf center frequency applied to the acousto-optic modulator and is fully electronic. It takes only 3micros to switch between different time slots, irrespective of the time separation in the tuning range of 30 ps; for a smaller tuning range the tuning speed can be faster. The tuning resolution and range depend on the choice of system parameters. The pulse energy can be regulated by rf power.

Research paper thumbnail of Structural anisotropy and internal magnetic fields in trabecular bone: Coupling solution and solid dipolar interactions

Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2005

We investigate the use of intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence to probe structural anisotrop... more We investigate the use of intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence to probe structural anisotropy in trabecular bone. Despite the low volume fraction of bone, the bone-water interface produces internal magnetic field gradients which modulate the dipolar field, depending on sample orientation, choice of dipolar correlation length, correlation gradient direction, and evolution time. For this system, the probing of internal magnetic field gradients in the liquid phase permits indirect measurements of the solid phase dipolar field. Our results suggest that measurements of volume-averaged signal intensity as a function of gradient strength and three orthogonal directions could be used to non-invasively measure the orientation of structures inside a sample or their degree of anisotropy. The system is modeled as having two phases, solid and liquid (bone and water), which differ in their magnetization density and magnetic susceptibility. A simple calculation using a priori knowledge of the material geometry and distribution of internal magnetic fields verifies the experimental measurements as a function of gradient strength, direction, and sample orientation.

Research paper thumbnail of Multiple-quantum vector field imaging by magnetic resonance

Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2005

We introduce a method for non-invasively mapping fiber orientation in materials and biological ti... more We introduce a method for non-invasively mapping fiber orientation in materials and biological tissues using intermolecular multiple-quantum coherences. The nuclear magnetic dipole field of water molecules is configured by a CRAZED sequence to encode spatial distributions of material heterogeneities. At any given point r in space, we obtain the spherical coordinates of fiber orientation (theta,phi) with respect to the external field by comparing three signals ||G(X)||, ||(Y)||, and ||G(Z)|| (modulus), acquired with linear gradients applied along the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively. For homogeneous isotropic materials, a subtraction ||G(Z)|| - ||G(X)|| - ||G(Y)|| gives zero. With anisotropic materials, we find an empirical relationship relating ||G(Z)|| - ||G(X)|| - ||G(Y)||/(||G(X)|| + ||G(Y)|| + ||G(Z)||) to the polar angle theta, while ||G(X|| - ||G(Y)||/(||G(X)|| + ||G(Y)|| + ||G(Z)||) is related to the azimuthal angle phi. Experiments in structured media confirm the structural sensitivity. This technique can probe length scales not accessible by conventional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging.

Research paper thumbnail of Simultaneous acquisition of multiple orders of intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence images

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2003

Recent studies have demonstrated the ability to detect images based on intermolecular multiple-qu... more Recent studies have demonstrated the ability to detect images based on intermolecular multiple-quantum coherences (iMQCs) that correspond to flipping of two or more separated spins simultaneously, as opposed to conventional magnetic resonance where only one spin is flipped at a time. Until now, iMQC imaging has only acquired one coherence signal per pulse sequence. Here we report a new sequence that successfully detects five orders of coherence (2, 1, 0, Ϫ1, and Ϫ2-quantum coherence images) in one pulse sequence, with each signal having its full intensity. The simultaneous acquisition highlights substantial contrast differences between conventional and iMQC images, and between the different types of iMQC images.

Research paper thumbnail of Simultaneous acquisition of multiple orders of intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence images in vivo

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2004

Recent studies have demonstrated the ability to detect images based on intermolecular multiple-qu... more Recent studies have demonstrated the ability to detect images based on intermolecular multiple-quantum coherences (iMQCs) that correspond to flipping of two or more separated spins simultaneously, as opposed to conventional magnetic resonance where only one spin is flipped at a time. Until now, iMQC imaging has only acquired one coherence signal per pulse sequence. Here we report a new sequence that successfully detects five orders of coherence (2, 1, 0, Ϫ1, and Ϫ2-quantum coherence images) in one pulse sequence, with each signal having its full intensity. The simultaneous acquisition highlights substantial contrast differences between conventional and iMQC images, and between the different types of iMQC images.

Research paper thumbnail of Reconstruction of porous material geometry by stochastic optimization based on bulk NMR measurements of the dipolar field

Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2004

The dependence of the bulk signal intensity from a CRAZED NMR pulse sequence on magnetic field gr... more The dependence of the bulk signal intensity from a CRAZED NMR pulse sequence on magnetic field gradient strength and direction as a method to probe the geometry of porous materials is investigated. In this article, we report on the reconstruction of three-dimensional media consisting of a void phase and an NMR-observable liquid phase using the bulk intensity of the distant dipolar field. The correlation gradient strength and direction provide the spatial encoding of the material geometry. An integral equation for the total signal intensity is then solved numerically by a simulated annealing algorithm to recover the indicator function of the fluid phase. Results show that cylindrical and spherical structures smaller than the volume contributing to the NMR signal can be resolved using three values of the correlation distance and three orthogonal gradient directions. This is done by minimizing a cost function which measures the distance between the bulk signal dependence on gradient parameters for the simulated configuration and the signal dependence for the target configuration. The algorithm can reconstruct and differentiate their spherical and cylindrical phase-inverted equivalents. It can also differentiate horizontal from vertical cylinders, demonstrating the potential for assessing structural anisotropy and other coarse geometric quantifiers in a porous material.

Research paper thumbnail of Isolating quantum coherences in structural imaging using intermolecular double-quantum coherence MRI

Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2003

Intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence (iMQC) MR imaging provides a fundamentally different co... more Intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence (iMQC) MR imaging provides a fundamentally different contrast mechanism. It allows probing tissue microstructure by tuning the direction and strength of the correlation gradient. However, iMQC images of a specific quantum-coherence can easily be contaminated by leakage signals from undesired quantum coherences (zero, single, and triple quantum coherence in this work). Using a modified double-quantum CRAZED imaging sequence, we show that signals originating from various coherence orders (M=0, 1, 2, 3) can be predicted in k-space and effectively isolated by means of a four-step phase cycling scheme and judicious choice of flip angles. Finally, preliminary data suggest the method to be able to provide information on trabecular bone architecture such as regional mean trabecular plate separation.

Research paper thumbnail of High-resolution indirect pulse shaping by parametric transfer

Optics Letters, 2002

The phase and amplitude profile of a shaped pulse in the visible is transferred to a pulse in the... more The phase and amplitude profile of a shaped pulse in the visible is transferred to a pulse in the near-infrared via an optical parametric amplification (OPA) process. Complex shaped pulses, such as multiple-pulse trains and pulses with high-order phase chirp, are produced at 1.2 mm. Theoretical conditions necessary for highfidelity parametric shape transfer are discussed. Similar schemes can be implemented for other OPA systems pumped at near-infrared wavelengths to generate high-resolution shaped pulses in the mid-infrared.

Research paper thumbnail of High-resolution in vivo imaging of blood vessels without labeling

Optics Letters, 2007

We demonstrate that both oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin have sequential two-color, two-photon ... more We demonstrate that both oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin have sequential two-color, two-photon absorption properties that can serve as endogenous contrasts in microvasculature imaging. Using a sensitive modulation transfer technique, we are able to image hemoglobin in red blood cells with micrometer resolution, both in vitro and in vivo. We show that excellent contrast from hemoglobin without any labeling can be obtained in tissue.

Research paper thumbnail of Two-photon absorption and self-phase modulation measurements with shaped femtosecond laser pulses

Optics Letters, 2005

We show that phase-sensitive detection of spectral hole refilling can yield information about sel... more We show that phase-sensitive detection of spectral hole refilling can yield information about self-phase modulation and two-photon absorption coefficients. We expect that, when applied to tissue microscopy, this technique will allow the study of endogenous molecular markers beneath the surface, even if those markers are nonfluorescent.

Research paper thumbnail of Two-color, two-photon, and excited-state absorption microscopy

Journal of Biomedical Optics, 2007

We develop a new approach in imaging nonfluorescent species with two-color two-photon and excited... more We develop a new approach in imaging nonfluorescent species with two-color two-photon and excited state absorption microscopy. If one of two synchronized mode-locked pulse trains at different colors is intensity modulated, the modulation transfers to the other pulse train when nonlinear absorption takes places in the medium. We can easily measure 10(-6) absorption changes caused by either two-photon absorption or excited-state absorption with a RF lock-in amplifier. Sepia melanin is studied in detail as a model system. Spectroscopy studies on the instantaneous two-photon absorption (TPA) and the relatively long-lived excited-state absorption (ESA) of melanin are carried out in solution, and imaging capability is demonstrated in B16 cells. It is found that sepia melanin exhibits two distinct excited states with different lifetimes (one at 3 ps, one lasting hundreds of nanoseconds) when pumped at 775 nm. Its characteristic TPA/ESA enables us to image its distribution in cell samples with high resolution comparable to two-photon fluorescence microscopy (TPFM). This new technique could potentially provide valuable information in diagnosing melanoma.

Research paper thumbnail of Mitochondrial NADH as the Bellwether of Tissue O 2 Delivery

It is proposed that the redox state of mitochondrial NADH1 will complement blood gas analysis for... more It is proposed that the redox state of mitochondrial NADH1 will complement blood gas analysis for measuring the health and welfare of human tissues. Use of arterial oxygen saturation levels (SaO2), especially as assayed by the Nellcor instrument, has spread almost everywhere in medicine despite the fact that hypoxia of internal organs, liver, kidney, brain, pancreas, etc. is not well indicated by peripheral digital oxygenation. Indeed, there is an implied liability in the failure to infer central oxygenation from peripheral values. Near infrared (NIR) sensing of deep tissue saturation of hemoglobin (StO2) requires multi-wavelength, multi-site measurement of both absorption and scattering properties by time or frequency domain NIR methods. Corrections for underlying water and lipid absorptions can be made so that the correct value for, and saturation oh hemoglobin are obtained. Nevertheless, the significance of blood oxygen saturation, even localized to particular organs, can be questioned from the standpoint of what is the critical value of the desaturation from which the tissue can recover2; for example, in the case of cortical neurons where stroke, compression ischemia, etc. cause O2 lack, this value becomes of significant clinical importance in both the brain and the spinal chord. These approaches are actively pursued and the possibility of subsurface redox state measurement in human tissues may eventually emerge as the quantitative metric of tissue metabolic state and of hypoxic stress. The great flexibility and versatility of the fast, economical and “tetherless” nature of opto-electronic technology is appropriate to the manifold challenges of neuronal function as currently measured by intrinsic signals and soon to be studiable by extrinsic signals of metabolism and electrophysiological functions.

Research paper thumbnail of Ultrafast measurement of two-photon absorption by loss modulation

Optics Letters, 2002

We demonstrate a direct and sensitive technique for measuring two-photon absorption (TPA). An int... more We demonstrate a direct and sensitive technique for measuring two-photon absorption (TPA). An intensitymodulated femtosecond laser beam passes through a sample exhibiting TPA. A TPA signal at twice the modulation frequency is then generated and subsequently measured by a lock-in amplifier. The absolute TPA cross section of Rhodamine 6G at 800 nm is found to be ͑15.3 6 2.0͒ 3 10 250 cm 4 s͞photon and agrees well with previously published results obtained with much higher intensity [J. Chem. Phys. 112, 9201 (2000)]. Our method may be especially useful in measuring nonlinear absorptions of nonf luorescent materials.

Research paper thumbnail of Role of Pulse Phase and Direction in Two-Dimensional Optical Spectroscopy

Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 1999

... Jonas and co-workers have also recently considered the issue of phase shift versus pulse dela... more ... Jonas and co-workers have also recently considered the issue of phase shift versus pulse delay for linearly polarized light 9 from a rather different perspective. They distinguish between phase shifts in the time domain and phase shifts in the frequency domain. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Relative-phase ambiguities in measurements of ultrashort pulses with well-separated multiple frequency components

Journal of The Optical Society of America B-optical Physics, 2003

Ultrashort-pulse characterization techniques, such as the numerous variants of frequency-resolved... more Ultrashort-pulse characterization techniques, such as the numerous variants of frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) and spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction, fail to fully determine the relative phases of well-separated frequency components. If well-separated frequency components are also well separated in time, the cross-correlation variants (e.g., XFROG) succeed, but only if short, wellcharacterized gate pulses are used.

Research paper thumbnail of Femtosecond Phase-Coherent Two-Dimensional Spectroscopy

Science, 2003

Femtosecond phase-coherent two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy has been experimentally demonstrated... more Femtosecond phase-coherent two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy has been experimentally demonstrated as the direct optical analog of 2D nuclear magnetic resonance. An acousto-optic pulse shaper created a collinear three-pulse sequence with well-controlled and variable interpulse delays and phases, which interacted with a model atomic system of rubidium vapor. The desired nonlinear polarization was selected by phase cycling (coadding experimental results obtained with different interpulse phases). This method may enhance our ability to probe the femtosecond structural dynamics of macromolecules.

Research paper thumbnail of Ultrafast pulse shaping: amplification and characterization

Optics Express, 1998

We demonstrate high-resolution amplified pulse shaping using an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) at ... more We demonstrate high-resolution amplified pulse shaping using an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) at a center-wavelength of 795nm. The output pulses have energy of 200µJ/pulse and a transform-limited pulsewidth of 150fs. A spectral modulation of over 40 features is achieved in a single pulse. We characterize the pulses using the STRUT (Spectrally and Temporally Resolved Upconversion Technique). Using predistortion techniques, we demonstrate that the pulses can be shaped in amplitude and phase. We create a complex pulse shape with hyperbolic secant amplitude and hyperbolic tangent frequency sweep, which is useful for applications in adiabatic rapid passage experiments.

Research paper thumbnail of Rapid ultrafine-tunableoptical delay line at the 1.55-mm wavelength

Optics Letters, 1998

A fast, ultrafine-tunable delay line at 1550 nm is demonstrated by use of acousto-optic pulse sha... more A fast, ultrafine-tunable delay line at 1550 nm is demonstrated by use of acousto-optic pulse shaping. Delays of up to 30 ps can be achieved without any optical readjustment. The delay is linear to the rf center frequency applied to the acousto-optic modulator and is fully electronic. It takes only 3micros to switch between different time slots, irrespective of the time separation in the tuning range of 30 ps; for a smaller tuning range the tuning speed can be faster. The tuning resolution and range depend on the choice of system parameters. The pulse energy can be regulated by rf power.

Research paper thumbnail of Structural anisotropy and internal magnetic fields in trabecular bone: Coupling solution and solid dipolar interactions

Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2005

We investigate the use of intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence to probe structural anisotrop... more We investigate the use of intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence to probe structural anisotropy in trabecular bone. Despite the low volume fraction of bone, the bone-water interface produces internal magnetic field gradients which modulate the dipolar field, depending on sample orientation, choice of dipolar correlation length, correlation gradient direction, and evolution time. For this system, the probing of internal magnetic field gradients in the liquid phase permits indirect measurements of the solid phase dipolar field. Our results suggest that measurements of volume-averaged signal intensity as a function of gradient strength and three orthogonal directions could be used to non-invasively measure the orientation of structures inside a sample or their degree of anisotropy. The system is modeled as having two phases, solid and liquid (bone and water), which differ in their magnetization density and magnetic susceptibility. A simple calculation using a priori knowledge of the material geometry and distribution of internal magnetic fields verifies the experimental measurements as a function of gradient strength, direction, and sample orientation.

Research paper thumbnail of Multiple-quantum vector field imaging by magnetic resonance

Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2005

We introduce a method for non-invasively mapping fiber orientation in materials and biological ti... more We introduce a method for non-invasively mapping fiber orientation in materials and biological tissues using intermolecular multiple-quantum coherences. The nuclear magnetic dipole field of water molecules is configured by a CRAZED sequence to encode spatial distributions of material heterogeneities. At any given point r in space, we obtain the spherical coordinates of fiber orientation (theta,phi) with respect to the external field by comparing three signals ||G(X)||, ||(Y)||, and ||G(Z)|| (modulus), acquired with linear gradients applied along the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively. For homogeneous isotropic materials, a subtraction ||G(Z)|| - ||G(X)|| - ||G(Y)|| gives zero. With anisotropic materials, we find an empirical relationship relating ||G(Z)|| - ||G(X)|| - ||G(Y)||/(||G(X)|| + ||G(Y)|| + ||G(Z)||) to the polar angle theta, while ||G(X|| - ||G(Y)||/(||G(X)|| + ||G(Y)|| + ||G(Z)||) is related to the azimuthal angle phi. Experiments in structured media confirm the structural sensitivity. This technique can probe length scales not accessible by conventional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging.

Research paper thumbnail of Simultaneous acquisition of multiple orders of intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence images

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2003

Recent studies have demonstrated the ability to detect images based on intermolecular multiple-qu... more Recent studies have demonstrated the ability to detect images based on intermolecular multiple-quantum coherences (iMQCs) that correspond to flipping of two or more separated spins simultaneously, as opposed to conventional magnetic resonance where only one spin is flipped at a time. Until now, iMQC imaging has only acquired one coherence signal per pulse sequence. Here we report a new sequence that successfully detects five orders of coherence (2, 1, 0, Ϫ1, and Ϫ2-quantum coherence images) in one pulse sequence, with each signal having its full intensity. The simultaneous acquisition highlights substantial contrast differences between conventional and iMQC images, and between the different types of iMQC images.

Research paper thumbnail of Simultaneous acquisition of multiple orders of intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence images in vivo

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2004

Recent studies have demonstrated the ability to detect images based on intermolecular multiple-qu... more Recent studies have demonstrated the ability to detect images based on intermolecular multiple-quantum coherences (iMQCs) that correspond to flipping of two or more separated spins simultaneously, as opposed to conventional magnetic resonance where only one spin is flipped at a time. Until now, iMQC imaging has only acquired one coherence signal per pulse sequence. Here we report a new sequence that successfully detects five orders of coherence (2, 1, 0, Ϫ1, and Ϫ2-quantum coherence images) in one pulse sequence, with each signal having its full intensity. The simultaneous acquisition highlights substantial contrast differences between conventional and iMQC images, and between the different types of iMQC images.

Research paper thumbnail of Reconstruction of porous material geometry by stochastic optimization based on bulk NMR measurements of the dipolar field

Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2004

The dependence of the bulk signal intensity from a CRAZED NMR pulse sequence on magnetic field gr... more The dependence of the bulk signal intensity from a CRAZED NMR pulse sequence on magnetic field gradient strength and direction as a method to probe the geometry of porous materials is investigated. In this article, we report on the reconstruction of three-dimensional media consisting of a void phase and an NMR-observable liquid phase using the bulk intensity of the distant dipolar field. The correlation gradient strength and direction provide the spatial encoding of the material geometry. An integral equation for the total signal intensity is then solved numerically by a simulated annealing algorithm to recover the indicator function of the fluid phase. Results show that cylindrical and spherical structures smaller than the volume contributing to the NMR signal can be resolved using three values of the correlation distance and three orthogonal gradient directions. This is done by minimizing a cost function which measures the distance between the bulk signal dependence on gradient parameters for the simulated configuration and the signal dependence for the target configuration. The algorithm can reconstruct and differentiate their spherical and cylindrical phase-inverted equivalents. It can also differentiate horizontal from vertical cylinders, demonstrating the potential for assessing structural anisotropy and other coarse geometric quantifiers in a porous material.

Research paper thumbnail of Isolating quantum coherences in structural imaging using intermolecular double-quantum coherence MRI

Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2003

Intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence (iMQC) MR imaging provides a fundamentally different co... more Intermolecular multiple-quantum coherence (iMQC) MR imaging provides a fundamentally different contrast mechanism. It allows probing tissue microstructure by tuning the direction and strength of the correlation gradient. However, iMQC images of a specific quantum-coherence can easily be contaminated by leakage signals from undesired quantum coherences (zero, single, and triple quantum coherence in this work). Using a modified double-quantum CRAZED imaging sequence, we show that signals originating from various coherence orders (M=0, 1, 2, 3) can be predicted in k-space and effectively isolated by means of a four-step phase cycling scheme and judicious choice of flip angles. Finally, preliminary data suggest the method to be able to provide information on trabecular bone architecture such as regional mean trabecular plate separation.