In the last decade, there has been tremendous progress in the field of ultrashort-pulse measurement. However, this effort has focused mostly on the temporal behavior of 100-fs, 800-nm ultrashort pulse, ignoring other pulse lengths, wavelengths, and the very common space-time couplings or so called spatio-temporal distortions. In this thesis work, I do an extensive study of spatio-temporal distortions and their measurement using Frequency Resolved Optical Gating (FROG) and its relatives. I clarify some ambiguities in the descriptions of these effects in the existing theory and establish a more general description of such distortions in ultrashort pulses. I also extend these measurement techniques to different wavelengths and pulse lengths. Specifically, I develop measurement devices for few-cycle NIR pulses, weak and narrowband fiber laser pulses, long (several-ps) NIR pulses, and visible pulses from NOPAs.

We have used ultrafast optics, primarily focused on the nonlinear processes of Polarization Gating and of Optical Parametric Amplification, one for measurement and the other for imaging purposes. For measurement, we have demonstrated a robust method of measurement to simultaneously measure both optical pulses used in a pump-probe type configuration. We refer to this method of pulse measurement as Double Blind Polarization Gating FROG. We have demonstrated this single-shot method for measuring two unknown pulses using one device. In addition to pulse measurement, we have demonstrated the processes of Optical Parametric Amplification (OPA) applicability to imaging of complex objects. We have done this where the Fourier transform plane is used during the interaction. We have amplified and wavelength converted a complex image. We observe a gain of ~100, and, although our images were averaged over many shots, we used a single-shot geometry, capable of true single-shot OPA imaging. To our knowledge, this is the first Fourier-plane OPA imaging of more than a single spatial-frequency component of an image. We observe more than 30 distinct spatial frequency components in both our amplified image and our wavelength shifted image. We have demonstrated all-optical spatial filtering for these complex images. We have demonstrated that direct Fourier filtering of spatial features is possible by using a shaped pump beam. We can isolate certain portions of the image simply by rotating the crystal.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a safe and widely used diagnostic imaging method that allows in vivo observation of anatomy and characterization of tissues. MRI provides a method to monitor patients without invasive measures, making it suitable for both diagnostics and longitudinal monitoring of various pathologies. A notable example of this is the work carried out by the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), which utilizes imaging, including multiple MRI techniques, to monitor disease progression in AD patients and evaluates treatment responses and prevention strategies. Similarly, MRI has been extensively used in evaluating diseases in a variety of animal models. In order to detect subtle anatomical changes over time, small differences in MR images must be accurately extracted. Furthermore, to ensure that the extracted differences are due to anatomical changes rather than equipment variance, it becomes essential to monitor and to assess the MRI system stability. In the first chapter of the dissertation, a method for monitoring pre-clinical MRI system performance is discussed. The technique developed during the study provides a fast and simple method to monitor pre-clinical MRI systems but also has applications for all areas of MRI. The second chapter describes the development of a 3D UTE MRI method for pulmonary imaging in freely breathing mice. The development of the 3D UTE sequence for pulmonary MRI has demonstrated its ability to collect images without noticeable motion artifacts and with appreciable signal from the lung parenchyma. Furthermore, images at two distinct respiratory phases were reconstructed from a single data set, providing functional information of the rodents' lungs. Finally, in the third chapter, 3D ¹⁹F UTE MRI is evaluated for imaging in vivo distributions of perfluorocarbon (PFC) nanoemulsions for measuring pulmonary inflammation. Building upon the development of pulmonary imaging, fluorinated contrast agents made from PFCs were used to target immune cells in response to pulmonary pathology. Both 3D ¹H and ¹⁹F UTE MRI were used to acquire pulmonary images of mouse models documented to have pulmonary pathology. Even though the mice had confirmed elevation in alveolar macrophage counts, no visible ¹⁹F signal accumulation within the pulmonary tissue was observed with MRI.

No description available.

The dynamics of atomic scale structures during structural change can be studied by Ultrafast Electron Diffraction (UED). The time resolution needed to reveal the fastest dynamics is 100 fs. Sub-angstrom structural resolution becomes possible with 1-1000 pC of charge necessary for diffraction pattern analysis during subtle structural changes. This combination of requirements cannot currently be realized due to the space-charge temporal broadening inherent to bunches of electrons of high fluence and short temporal duration. Simulations show that the incorporation of a specially designed Radio-Frequncy (RF) cavity into the UED apparatus removes this technical limitation. The RF cavity reverses the near linear position-momentum distribution of the temporally broadened electron bunch, causing the bunch to recompress itself as it propagates. It is found that our proposed method allows for sub-100 fs bunches with maximum charge of 0.6 pC, almost 3 orders of magnitude improvement over today's state of the art.

Radiotherapy dose calculations have evolved from simple factor based methods performed with pen and paper, into computationally intensive simulations based on Monte Carlo theory and energy deposition kernel convolution. Similarly, in the field of positron emission tomography (PET), attenuation correction, which was originally omitted entirely, is now a crucial component of any PET reconstruction algorithm. Today, both of these applications – radiotherapy and PET – derive their needed in-tissue radiation attenuation coefficients from images acquired with X-ray computed tomography (CT). Since X-ray images are themselves acquired using ionizing radiation, the intensity at a point in an image will reflect the radiation interaction properties of the tissue located at that point. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), on the other hand, does not use ionizing radiation. Instead MRI make use of the net transverse magnetization resulting from the spin polarization of hydrogen nuclei. MR image contrast can be varied to a greater extent than CT and the soft tissue contrast is, for most MR sequences, superior to that of CT. Therefore, for many cases, MR images provide a considerable advantage over CT when identifying or delineating tumors or other diseased tissues. For this reason, there is an interest to replace CT with MRI for a great number of diagnostic and therapeutic workflows. Also, replacing CT with MRI would reduce the exposure to ionizing radiation experienced by patients and, by extension, reduce the associated risk to induce cancer. In part MRI has already replaced CT, but for radiotherapy dose calculations and PET attenuation correction, CT examinations are still necessary in clinical practice. One of the reasons is that the net transverse magnetization imaged in MRI cannot be converted into attenuation coefficients for ionizing radiation in a straightforward way. More specifically, regions with similar appearance in magnetic resonance (MR) images, such as bone and air pockets, are found at different ends of the spectrum of attenuation coefficients present in the human body. In a CT image, bone will appear bright white and air as black corresponding to high and no attenuation, respectively. In an MR image, bone and air both appear dark due to the lack of net transverse magnetization. The weak net transverse magnetization of bone is a result of low hydrogen density and rapid transverse relaxation. A particular category of MRI sequences with so-called ultrashort echo time (UTE) can sample the MRI signal from bone before it is lost due to transverse relaxation. Thus, UTE sequences permit bone to be imaged with MRI albeit with weak intensity and poor resolution. Imaging with UTE in combination with careful image analysis can permit ionizing-radiation attenuation-maps to be derived from MR images. This dissertation and appended articles present a procedure for this very purpose. However, as attenuation coefficients are radiation-quality dependent the output of the method is a Hounsfield unit map, i.e. a substitute for a CT image. It can be converted into an attenuation map using conventional clinical procedure. Obviating the use of CT would reduce the number of examinations that patients have to endure during preparation for radiotherapy. It would also permit PET attenuation correction to be performed on images from the new imaging modality that combines PET and MRI in one scanner – PET/MR.

Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-94). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-127).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 198-205).

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