In systems possessing spatial or dynamical symmetry breaking, Brownian motion combined with unbiased external input signals, deterministic and random alike, can assist directed motion of particles at submicron scales. In such cases, one speaks of ``Brownian motors.'' In this review the constructive role of Brownian motion is exemplified for various physical and technological setups, which are inspired by the cellular molecular machinery: the working principles and characteristics of stylized devices are discussed to show how fluctuations, either thermal or extrinsic, can be used to control diffusive particle transport. Recent experimental demonstrations of this concept are surveyed with particular attention to transport in artificial, i.e., nonbiological, nanopores, lithographic tracks, and optical traps, where single-particle currents were first measured. Much emphasis is given to two- and three-dimensional devices containing many interacting particles of one or more species; for this class of artificial motors, noise rectification results also from the interplay of particle Brownian motion and geometric constraints. Recently, selective control and optimization of the transport of interacting colloidal particles and magnetic vortices have been successfully achieved, thus leading to the new generation of microfluidic and superconducting devices presented here. The field has recently been enriched with impressive experimental achievements in building artificial Brownian motor devices that even operate within the quantum domain by harvesting quantum Brownian motion. Sundry akin topics include activities aimed at noise-assisted shuttling other degrees of freedom such as charge, spin, or even heat and the assembly of chemical synthetic molecular motors. This review ends with a perspective for future pathways and potential new applications.

/pdf/artificial-brownian-motors-controlling-transport-on-the-1553poaezw.pdf

Artificial Brownian motors: Controlling transport on the nanoscale

Heart rate is an important indicator of people's physiological state Recently, several papers reported methods to measure heart rate remotely from face videos Those methods work well on stationary subjects under well controlled conditions, but their performance significantly degrades if the videos are recorded under more challenging conditions, specifically when subjects' motions and illumination variations are involved We propose a framework which utilizes face tracking and Normalized Least Mean Square adaptive filtering methods to counter their influences We test our framework on a large difficult and public database MAHNOB-HCI and demonstrate that our method substantially outperforms all previous methods We also use our method for long term heart rate monitoring in a game evaluation scenario and achieve promising results

/pdf/remote-heart-rate-measurement-from-face-videos-under-397gknwapu.pdf

Remote Heart Rate Measurement from Face Videos under Realistic Situations

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a noninvasive optical technique for detecting microvascular blood volume changes in tissues. Its ease of use, low cost and convenience make it an attractive area of research in the biomedical and clinical communities. Nevertheless, its single spot monitoring and the need to apply a PPG sensor directly to the skin limit its practicality in situations such as perfusion mapping and healing assessments or when free movement is required. The introduction of fast digital cameras into clinical imaging monitoring and diagnosis systems, the desire to reduce the physical restrictions, and the possible new insights that might come from perfusion imaging and mapping inspired the evolution of the conventional PPG technology to imaging PPG (IPPG). IPPG is a noncontact method that can detect heart-generated pulse waves by means of peripheral blood perfusion measurements. Since its inception, IPPG has attracted significant public interest and provided opportunities to improve personal healthcare. This study presents an overview of the wide range of IPPG systems currently being introduced along with examples of their application in various physiological assessments. We believe that the widespread acceptance of IPPG is happening, and it will dramatically accelerate the promotion of this healthcare model in the near future.

/pdf/photoplethysmography-revisited-from-contact-to-noncontact-2jla840amb.pdf

Photoplethysmography Revisited: From Contact to Noncontact, From Point to Imaging

Remote sensing of the reflectance photoplethysmogram using a video camera typically positioned 1 m away from the patient's face is a promising method for monitoring the vital signs of patients without attaching any electrodes or sensors to them. Most of the papers in the literature on non-contact vital sign monitoring report results on human volunteers in controlled environments. We have been able to obtain estimates of heart rate and respiratory rate and preliminary results on changes in oxygen saturation from double-monitored patients undergoing haemodialysis in the Oxford Kidney Unit. To achieve this, we have devised a novel method of cancelling out aliased frequency components caused by artificial light flicker, using auto-regressive (AR) modelling and pole cancellation. Secondly, we have been able to construct accurate maps of the spatial distribution of heart rate and respiratory rate information from the coefficients of the AR model. In stable sections with minimal patient motion, the mean absolute error between the camera-derived estimate of heart rate and the reference value from a pulse oximeter is similar to the mean absolute error between two pulse oximeter measurements at different sites (finger and earlobe). The activities of daily living affect the respiratory rate, but the camera-derived estimates of this parameter are at least as accurate as those derived from a thoracic expansion sensor (chest belt). During a period of obstructive sleep apnoea, we tracked changes in oxygen saturation using the ratio of normalized reflectance changes in two colour channels (red and blue), but this required calibration against the reference data from a pulse oximeter.

/pdf/non-contact-video-based-vital-sign-monitoring-using-ambient-1160fholov.pdf

Non-contact video-based vital sign monitoring using ambient light and auto-regressive models

We demonstrate time-resolved counting of single atoms extracted from a weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensate of 87Rb atoms. The atoms are detected with a high-finesse optical cavity and single atom transits are identified. An atom laser beam is formed by continuously output coupling atoms from the Bose-Einstein condensate. We investigate the full counting statistics of this beam and measure its second order correlation function g((2))(tau) in a Hanbury Brown-Twiss type experiment. For the monoenergetic atom laser we observe a constant correlation function g((2))(tau)=1.00 +/- 0.01 and an atom number distribution close to a Poissonian statistics. A pseudothermal atomic beam shows a bunching behavior and a Bose distributed counting statistics.

/pdf/correlations-and-counting-statistics-of-an-atom-laser-3qkpmys2p1.pdf

Correlations and counting statistics of an atom laser.

In this paper, we present a novel photoplethysmographic device that operates remotely, i.e. not in contact with the skin. The device allows for real time measurements of heart rate with motion artifact reduction from a distance of a few centimeters up to several meters. High mobility of users is achieved in assessment of vital body signs, such as heart rate.

Heart rate monitoring via remote photoplethysmography with motion artifacts reduction

We demonstrate a scheme for the Fourier synthesis of periodic optical potentials with asymmetric unit cells for atoms. In a proof of principle experiment, an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate is exposed to either symmetric or sawtooth-like asymmetric potentials by superimposing a conventional standing wave potential of $\ensuremath{\lambda}∕2$ spatial periodicity with a fourth-order lattice potential of $\ensuremath{\lambda}∕4$ periodicity. The high periodicity lattice is realized using dispersive properties of multiphoton Raman transitions. Future applications of the demonstrated scheme could range from the search for novel quantum phases in unconventionally shaped lattice potentials up to dissipationless atomic quantum ratchets.

http://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0512018.pdf

Fourier synthesis of optical potentials for atomic quantum gases

We demonstrate an atom laser using all-optical techniques. A Bose-Einstein condensate of rubidium atoms is created by direct evaporative cooling in a quasistatic dipole trap realized with a single, tightly focused CO2-laser beam. An applied magnetic field gradient allows the formation of the condensate in a field-insensitive m(F)=0 spin projection only, which suppresses fluctuations of the chemical potential from stray magnetic fields. A collimated and monoenergetic beam of atoms is extracted from the Bose-Einstein condensate by continuously lowering the dipole trapping potential in a controlled way to form a novel type of atom laser.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0307620.pdf

All-optical realization of an atom laser.

We report on the demonstration of a novel scheme for laser frequency offset locking. Following standard techniques, a beat signal is generated between the laser to be frequency stabilized and a second laser with known frequency. A frequency dependent error signal is derived from this beat note by using the amplitude response of an electronic high pass filter. The steep slope of the error signal near the zero-crossing allows for precise frequency locking by a servo loop, while simultaneously a broad capture range of several hundreds of MHz is obtained.

Laser frequency offset locking using a side of filter technique

A method of processing images of at least one living being, includes obtaining a sequence (19) of digital images taken at consecutive points in time. At least one measurement zone (26) comprising a plurality of image points is selected. For each measurement zone (26), a signal (28,30) representative of at least variations in a time- varying value of a combination of pixel values at at least a number of the image points for use in determining at least one of a presence and a frequency value of at least one peak in a spectrum of the signal (28,30) corresponding to a frequency of a periodic physiological phenomenon is obtained. The step (25) of selecting at least one measurement zone (26) includes analyzing information based on pixel data of a plurality of image parts in at least one of the images (19), each image part including at least one image point, and selecting each measurement zone (26) from contiguous parts determined to have similar characteristics.

Giovanni Cennini

Papers

Heart rate monitoring via remote photoplethysmography with motion artifacts reduction

Fourier synthesis of optical potentials for atomic quantum gases

All-optical realization of an atom laser.

Laser frequency offset locking using a side of filter technique

Processing images of at least one living being