BioFemtoVision

Coordinator:
Marie-Ève Choronzey
(514) 252-3400 ext. 3143
mchoronzey.hmr@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

BioFemtoVision is a biophotonic support program that uses femtosecond laser technology. The CRHMR has made this program available to its research investigators in order to conduct leading-edge research. The CRHMR is the only hospital research centre in Quebec to hold a 20 KHz sapphire-amplified laser Ti as well as a wide inventory of resources for conducting research and for developing biophotonic applications in ophthalmology and biomedical sciences.

Services

The program consists of:
1. An experimental operating room that is adjacent to the femtosecond laser photoablation and imaging rooms.

2. Examination rooms:

  • In vivo and macroscopic investigation; 
  • Conventional imaging investigation;
  • Cellular and molecular photonic imaging investigation;
  • Specimen preparation for histological analysis.

3. A cell culture room (corneal tissue preparation).

4. An optical instrument development room.

5. A biophotonic laboratory

  • The laboratory has the necessary equipment for making protein patterns intended for cell culture. These include new laser methods, fluorescence microscopy and a number of cutting-edge image analysis methods that quantify protein and cell dynamics.

6. A multiphotonic microscopy laboratory

  • We have built a non-linear microscope based on second harmonic and third harmonic generations. This prototype can be configured for detection in real time or at sight.
  • A new microscope based on Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering is currently in development, and will use a picosecond laser and an optical parametric oscillator.

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Equipment

Experimental Research:

  • High intensity, medium high power and high rate repetition sapphire laser Ti (20 KHz, 0.3mJ, 34fs)
  • Optical parametric oscillator (picoTRAIN 4000 d High Q Emerald Laser OPO)
  • Yb KGW femtosecond laser (t-Pulse-200 of Amplitude-Systems)
  • Möller Hi-R 900 surgical microscope (HS Möller-Wedel International)
  • ZEISS DISCOVERY V12 stereomicroscope equipped with a AxioCam digital camera and Axio Vision 4 imaging processing and analysis software ( Carl Zeiss, Germany)
  • Slit lamp (900.7.2.1158, Haag-Striet) equipped with a digital camera (D200, Nikon),
  • Eye bank specular microscope (SP 3300 Konan)
  • Non-contact specular microscope (Noncon ROBO-CA, Konan)

The BioFemtoVision program also includes a clinical research program that is physically and operationally separate from the basic research program. This program operates out of the Ophthalmology Department’s research clinic at the HMR. In addition to routine ophthalmological screening instruments, several specialized instruments that analyze the shape and function of the cornea are also available including:

  • Topographer (ORBSCAN II, Bausch&Lomb)
  • OPD-Scan (ARK-10000, Nidek)
  • Pentacam (HR, Oculus)
  • Aiming OCT (model 1000, Zeiss)
  • Confoscan II, Nidek

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