Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Image”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Dataset for "A Microfluidic Spore Chamber for Long-Term Imaging of Single-Spore Hyphal Development"

Understanding the life cycle of fungal spores is essential for elucidating their roles in pathogenesis, dispersal, and survival. However, studying spore development under controlled, spatially defined conditions remains challenging. Here, we present the Spore Chamber, a custom-built microfluidic platform engineered for parallel trapping and long-term imaging of individual spores under defined media conditions, enabling real-time visualization of hyphal development. Using Aspergillus fumigatus as a model organism, we demonstrate that sparse trapping of individual spores within size-matched trap geometries enables long-term time-lapse imaging of key developmental stages, including germination, polarized hyphal elongation, branching, and conidiophore formation. To assess the device’s capacity to resolve morphogenetic responses to exogenous signals, we introduced lipochitooligosaccharides (LCOs) and short-chain chitooligosaccharides (COs). Rhizobium-derived, non-sulfated LCO (nsLCO) mixtures induced enhanced secondary branching (hyperbranching), a response not previously reported in A. fumigatus under these signal conditions, to our knowledge, whereas sulfated LCOs and CO4 did not significantly alter branching patterns. In addition, long-term confinement and imaging revealed rare developmental morphologies previously described primarily in mutant strains, including split conidiophore formation, elongated phialides, microcyclic conidiation, and chlamydospore development. Together, these results establish the Spore Chamber as a targeted microfluidic platform for single-spore phenotyping and long-term developmental analysis, with applications in fungal biology, chemical signaling studies, and host–microbe interaction research. Videos of the observed phenomena are included in this data set.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Underwater Imaging via Wide Field of View Metalens

We demonstrate a metasurface-based platform for underwater imaging in the blue range, enabling wavefront shaping and capturing images through scattering and absorbing media. Engineered metalenses achieve ultra-wide, 170° field-of-view performance for underwater imaging.

Chen, Yuxuan [Department of Electrical and Compute↗
DOE OSTI2024

Referenceless, grating-based, single shot X-ray phase contrast imaging with optimized laser-driven K-α sources

With its ability to efficiently probe low-Z materials, X-ray phase imaging methods have recently raised high interest in multiple fields from biology and medical applications to high energy density (HED) physics. Initially developed with synchrotron light and X-ray tubes, we present a novel grating based Talbot X-ray deflectometer (TXD) diagnostic that was coupled with laser-generated K-α X-ray sources. The multi-terawatt laser (I > 1 × 10 14 W cm -2 ) was used as a testbed for diagnostic development. It was found that X-ray source chromaticity plays an important role in TXD. Indeed, the broadband spectrum of laser-generated X-ray sources may strongly impact image quality and thus diagnostic performance. We qualified X-ray emission from different laser-produced sources and determined laser, target, and deflectometer parameters that optimize TXD performance. We present the first results of referenceless grating-based X-ray imaging at high-power laser facilities and discuss the implications of this new development in HED research.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Non-contact imaging of terahertz surface currents with aperture-type near-field microscopy

Terahertz (THz) near-field imaging and spectroscopy provide valuable insights into the fundamental physical processes occurring in THz resonators and metasurfaces on the subwavelength scale. However, so far, the mapping of THz surface currents has remained outside the scope of THz near-field techniques. In this study, we demonstrate that aperture-type scanning near-field microscopy enables non-contact imaging of THz surface currents in subwavelength resonators. Through extensive near-field mapping of an asymmetric D-split-ring THz resonator and full electromagnetic simulations of the resonator and the probe, we demonstrate the correlation between the measured near-field images and the THz surface currents. The observed current dynamics in the interval of several picoseconds reveal the interplay between several excited modes, including dark modes, whereas broadband THz near-field spectroscopy analysis enables the characterization of electromagnetic resonances defined by the resonator geometry.

Norman, Sarah↗
DOE OSTI2024

Hyperspectral acquisition with ScanImage at the single pixel level: application to time domain coherent Raman imaging

We present a comprehensive strategy and its practical implementation using the commercial ScanImage software platform to perform hyperspectral point scanning microscopy when a fast time-dependent signal varies at each pixel level. In the proposed acquisition scheme, the scan along the X-axis is slowed down while the data acquisition is maintained at a high pace to enable the rapid acquisition of the time-dependent signal at each pixel level. The ScanImage generated raw 2D images have a very asymmetric aspect ratio between X and Y, the X axis encoding both for space and time acquisition. The results are X-axis macro-pixel where the associated time-dependent signal is sampled to provide hyperspectral information. We exemplified the proposed hyperspectral scheme in the context of time-domain coherent Raman imaging, where a pump pulse impulsively excites molecular vibrations that are subsequently probed by a time-delayed probe pulse. In this case, the time-dependent signal is a fast acousto-optics delay line that can scan a delay of 4.5ps in 25 μ s at each pixel level. With this acquisition scheme, we demonstrate ultra-fast hyperspectral vibrational imaging in the low frequency range [10 cm −1 , 150 cm −1 ] over a 500 μm field of view (64 x 64 pixels) in 130ms (∼ 7.5 frames/s). The proposed acquisition scheme can be readily extended to other applications requiring the acquisition of a fast-evolving signal at each pixel level.

Metais, Samuel↗
DOE OSTI2025

Overview and Current Status of Neutron Imaging at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Neutron imaging is a non-destructive technique used to study the internal structure and composition of a wide range of materials. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), there are two neutron imaging beamlines that provide complementary capabilities that serve a diverse community, from materials science and engineering to biomedical and plant sciences. This report provides an overview of the current ORNL imaging capabilities that support materials research for a broad user community.

Torres, James [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000289407610)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Red–green–blue Boolean image analysis of particulate debris laced with luminescent tracers

Abstract Particulate mass estimation from 3-pixel images is desirable in many fields. Red–green–blue (RGB) analysis and Boolean logic were shown to estimate the mass of luminescent tracers in microscopic images. With a controlled background intensity, an estimation error of 1.8 to 3.5% was achieved; in uncontrolled backgrounds, an error of about 18% was achieved. RGB analysis is a valuable tool for spatial location of particulates. This work shows it is possible to estimate the particulate mass in an image and gives RGB an extension into mass quantification that has far-reaching impacts in fields involving the fate and transport of particulate matter. Graphical abstract

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Extraction of Vibration Data with Imaging

To date, the primary sensing technology used to measure the vibration response has been accelerometers and strain gages mounted directly to the structure and using either wired or, more recently, wireless telemetry. Cost issues with these sensors and the associated data acquisition systems typically limit the numbers that are deployed on in situ structures. Although there are a few structures with larger sensing counts that in some cases exceed over 1000 sensors, more typical numbers range from ten to one hundred sensors resulting in low spatial resolution when they are applied to physically large systems. When one considers that nuclear power plant structures usually have complex geometries, material properties, connectivity and boundary conditions, it is clear these current approaches to vibration measurements can only provide limited information about a system’s dynamics response characteristics. As an alternative, many non-contact measurement technologies have emerged, including point wise measurement methods such as Global Positioning System (GPS), microwave interferometry, and laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV), as well as simultaneous full-field measurement methods such as electronic speckle pattern interferometry, holography interferometry, and muon tomography, some of which can provide high spatial resolution measurements. Among these methods, digital video imaging techniques have emerged as a feasible solution for full-field vibration measurements that provide significantly more detailed dynamic response information because every pixel becomes a measurement point. Furthermore, recent advances in image processing and computer vision algorithms have been successfully used to process video data for experimental and operational modal analysis. Such full-field measurements have the potential to significantly improve many current structural assessment procedures including system identification (modal parameter estimation), structural health monitoring, load reconstruction, model validation, and model updating. Furthermore, more recent full-field imaging techniques can be accomplished with relatively low-cost, commercially-available off-the-shelf cameras. However, these measurement procedures have other limitations that must be considered such as the ability to only measure visibly accessible points on a structure and a more limited dynamic range and bandwidth than can be achieved with accelerometers or strain gages.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Image Reconstruction from Sparse-view Data Acquired with Portable X-ray Devices

• Portable X-ray systems enable on-site 3D imaging for non-invasive inspection of suspicious packages and explosives. • Existing reconstruction algorithms (e.g., FDK or Feldkamp, Davis and Kress) require hundreds of projections over 360 degrees. • Sparse-view scan reduces scanning time and setup effort, making it ideal for field use in timecritical scenarios. • Existing reconstruction algorithms introduce severe artifacts when applied to sparse-view data. • We developed a total variation (TV)-based optimization algorithm for yielding 3D images from sparse-view data collected with our portable X-ray imaging system.

Xia, Dan [University of Chicago, Chicago, IL]↗
DOE OSTI2025

Commission < 5 µm spatial resolution x-ray imager for High Resolution Turbulence experiments

This report presents the successful development, commissioning, and deployment of the Scintillation-Based X-ray Imager (SBXI) for the High-Resolution Turbulence (HRT) campaign at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The SBXI system was designed to overcome the spatial resolution and efficiency limitations of conventional x-ray imaging detectors. Through careful system engineering, rigorous laboratory characterization, and experimental validation at NIF, the SBXI has demonstrated spatial resolution at the object plane of 5 μm (±0.5 μm) and a detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of 34% at 7.2 keV, both of which surpass the requirements set by the campaign, and meeting the L2 milestone. The system’s deployment enables high-fidelity imaging of fine-scale hydrodynamic instabilities, directly supporting advanced turbulence model validation and future high energy density physics research.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Infrared Cloud Imager Instrument Intercomparison Report

The Infrared Cloud Imager Instrument Intercomparison was a guest instrument deployment by NWB Sensors to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility observatory on the Southern Great Plains (SGP) between May 18 and December 12, 2023. NWB Sensors is a company that has developed a commercially available infrared cloud imager (ICI). The ICI provides radiometrically calibrated, full-sky images of the downwelling infrared radiance in the 7.3-14 µm band. In addition, it provides cloud radiance as the residual between the observed radiance and the modeled cloud-free radiance as well as derived cloud products. The instrument is used in applications that require consistent detection of clouds across day and night. For more information, consult the instrument's webpage. The primary goal of the deployment was to validate the radiometric accuracy of the ICI. The ICI uses a proprietary calibration method to convert the raw data from its infrared camera into downwelling radiance. Unlike similar instruments, the system does not have an onboard blackbody calibration standard. Instead, NWB Sensors characterizes each ICI camera individually in an environmental chamber while looking at a blackbody standard. The resulting (proprietary) calibration is used operationally in the instrument and has been demonstrated to be stable over long periods. To validate the radiometric products from the ICI, an intercomparison between the ICI data products and those from ARM’s atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer (AERI) was made. The AERI is a best-in-class instrument for measuring downwelling infrared radiance (Gero et al. 2025). A weighted integration of the AERI’s spectral radiances across the ICI’s camera response was performed. The resulting radiance (herein called the AERI radiance) was directly compared to the zenith radiance concurrently observed by the ICI. The results of these comparisons are reported in the next section of this report.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Developing affordable and efficient heating devices for enhanced live cell imaging in confocal microscopy

Temperature control is crucial for live cell imaging, particularly in studies involving plant responses to high ambient temperatures and thermal stress. This study presents the design, development, and testing of two cost-effective heating devices tailored for confocal microscopy applications: an aluminum heat plate and a wireless mini-heater. The aluminum heat plate, engineered to integrate seamlessly with the standard 160 mm × 110 mm microscope stage, supports temperatures up to 36°C, suitable for studies in the range of non-stressful warm temperatures (e.g., 25-27°C forArabidopsis thaliana) and moderate heat stress (e.g., 30-36°C forA. thaliana). We also developed a wireless mini-heater that offers rapid, precise heating directly at the sample slide, with a temperature increase rate over 30 times faster than the heat plate. The wireless heater effectively maintained target temperatures up to 50°C, ideal for investigating severe heat stress and heat shock responses in plants. Both devices performed well in controlled studies, including the real-time analysis of heat shock protein accumulation and stress granule formation inA. thaliana. Our designs are effective and affordable, with total construction costs lower than $300. This accessibility makes them particularly valuable for small laboratories with limited funding. Future improvements could include enhanced heat uniformity, humidity control to mitigate evaporation, and more robust thermal management to minimize focus drift during extended imaging sessions. These modifications would further solidify the utility of our heating devices in live cell imaging, offering researchers reliable, budget-friendly tools for exploring plant thermal biology.

Plant Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2024

Simulation Study of High-Precision Characterization of MeV Electron Interactions for Advanced Nano-Imaging of Thick Biological Samples and Microchips

The resolution of a mega-electron-volt scanning transmission electron microscope (MeV-STEM) is primarily governed by the properties of the incident electron beam and angular broadening effects that occur within thick biological samples and microchips. A precise understanding and mitigation of these constraints require detailed knowledge of beam emittance, aberrations in the STEM column optics, and energy-dependent elastic and inelastic critical angles of the materials being examined. This simulation study proposes a standardized experimental framework for comprehensively assessing beam intensity, divergence, and size at the sample exit. This framework aims to characterize electron-sample interactions, reconcile discrepancies among analytical models, and validate Monte Carlo (MC) simulations for enhanced predictive accuracy. Our numerical findings demonstrate that precise measurements of these parameters, especially angular broadening, are not only feasible but also essential for optimizing imaging resolution in thick biological samples and microchips. By utilizing an electron source with minimal emittance and tailored beam characteristics, along with amorphous ice and silicon samples as biological proxies and microchip materials, this research seeks to optimize electron beam energy by focusing on parameters to improve the resolution in MeV-STEM/TEM. This optimization is particularly crucial for in situ imaging of thick biological samples and for examining microchip defects with nanometer resolutions. Our ultimate goal is to develop a comprehensive mapping of the minimum electron energy required to achieve a nanoscale resolution, taking into account variations in sample thickness, composition, and imaging mode.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Image-Driven Hybrid Structural Analysis Based on Continuum Point Cloud Method with Boundary Capturing Technique

Conventional approaches for the structural health monitoring of infrastructures often rely on physical sensors or targets attached to structural members, which require considerable preparation, maintenance, and operational effort, including continuous on-site adjustments. This paper presents an image-driven hybrid structural analysis technique that combines digital image processing (DIP) and regression analysis with a continuum point cloud method (CPCM) built on a particle-based strong formulation. Polynomial regressions capture the boundary shape change due to the structural loading and precisely identify the edge and corner coordinates of the deformed structure. The captured edge profiles are transformed into essential boundary conditions. This allows the construction of a strongly formulated boundary value problem (BVP), classified as the Dirichlet problem. Capturing boundary conditions from the digital image is novel, although a similar approach was applied to the point cloud data. It was shown that the CPCM is more efficient in this hybrid simulation framework than the weak-form-based numerical schemes. Unlike the finite element method (FEM), it can avoid aligning boundary nodes with regression points. A three-point bending test of a rubber beam was simulated to validate the developed technique. The simulation results were benchmarked against numerical results by ANSYS and various relevant numerical schemes. The technique can effectively solve the Dirichlet-type BVP, yielding accurate deformation, stress, and strain values across the entire problem domain when employing a linear strain model and increasing the number of CPCM nodes. In addition, comparative analysis with conventional displacement tracking techniques verifies the developed technique’s robustness. The proposed technique effectively circumvents the inherent limitations of traditional monitoring methods resulting from the reliance on physical gauges or target markers so that a robust and non-contact solution for remote structural health monitoring in real-scale infrastructures can be provided, even in unfavorable experimental environments.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2024

Photoneutron Production Using an Electron Linear Accelerator for Applications in Neutron Imaging

Photoneutron production is possible using an electron linear accelerator and a target capable of generating photonuclear reactions. A short pulse neutron source can be useful for neutron imaging dynamic experiments. This study is aimed at the feasibility of photoneutron production using a 20 MeV electron linear accelerator and tungsten and depleted uranium targets of various thicknesses. MCNP6 (Monte Carlo N-Particle) code will be used to develop a computational model to estimate total neutron yield, and this will be verified at the Idaho State University’s Accelerator Center. After verification of the neutron yield and energy spectra, an additional MCNP6 model will be developed to analyze the neutron imaging processes. This study will potentially prove it is possible to conduct multi-mode imaging experiments on the anticipated Scorpius electron linear accelerator at the Nevada National Security Sites.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

VLM4Bio: A Benchmark Dataset to Evaluate Pretrained Vision-Language Models for Trait Discovery from Biological Images

Images are increasingly becoming the currency for documenting biodiversity on the planet, providing novel opportunities for accelerating scientific discoveries in the field of organismal biology, especially with the advent of large vision-language models (VLMs). We ask if pre-trained VLMs can aid scientists in answering a range of biologically relevant questions without any additional fine-tuning. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of 12 state-of-the-art (SOTA) VLMs in the field of organismal biology using a novel dataset, VLM4Bio, consisting of 469K question8 answer pairs involving 30K images from three groups of organisms: fishes, birds, and butterflies, covering five biologically relevant tasks. We also explore the effects of applying prompting techniques and tests for reasoning hallucination on the performance of VLMs, shedding new light on the capabilities of current SOTA VLMs in answering biologically relevant questions using images

Maruf, M [Virginia Tech, Blacksburg]↗
DOE OSTI2024

Correlative multimodal chemical imaging via machine learning

Machine learning approach can combine mass spectral imaging (MSI) techniques, one with low spatial resolution but intact molecular spectra and the other with nanometer spatial resolution but fragmented molecular signatures, to predict molecular MSI spectra with submicron spatial resolution. The machine learning approach can perform transformations on the spectral image data of the two MSI techniques to reduce dimensionality, and using a correlation technique, find relationships between the transformed spectral image data. The determined relationships can be used to generate MSI spectra of desired resolution.

Ovchinnikova, Olga S.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Energy-resolved fast-neutron radiography using an event-mode neutron imaging detector

Energy-resolved fast-neutron radiography is a powerful non-destructive technique that can be used to remotely measure the quantity and distribution of elements and isotopes in a sample. This is done by comparing the energy-dependent neutron transmission of a sample with the known cross-sections of individual isotopes. The reconstruction of the composition is possible due to the unique features (e.g. resonances) in the cross-sections of individual isotopes. At short-pulsed (≲ 1 ns) neutron sources, such information is accessible via time-of-flight neutron imaging in principle, but requires a detector with nanosecond temporal resolution. Conventional neutron detectors can meet this requirement only by heavily compromising spatial resolution or efficiency. Here, we present a unique approach on fast neutron resonance radiography using a scintillator-based event-mode imaging detector at a short-pulsed neutron source, including first results on spatially mapped resonance profiles using MeV neutrons. The event mode approach applied in the presented detector allows recording of individual neutron interactions with nanosecond precision in time and sub-mm resolution in space. As a result, the entire available neutron energy spectrum can be measured for each pulse. At the same time, the use of a thick scintillator screen and lenses to focus the produced light results in a highly flexible field of view and a high interaction probability in the sensitive volume of the detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗