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interests and experience, which is
my specialty,” he adds. “Besides, it
is where the next revolution in
applied optics is already happening,
in a similar manner to what optics
has done to telecommunications in
the last 20 years.
“There are over 400 companies in
Israel in electrooptics, so alumni
have a better chance of finding work
in the field. In fact, many of our
graduate students are from
industry.” With regard to his
research, Abdulhalim says: “All my
previous research had been driven
by the industries I worked for. I like
the fact that there is somewhat more
freedom in the university setting,
although we have funding issues to
contend with.”
Abdulhalim explains that
biomedical optics uses optics to
build devices, imaging technologies
and sensors for diagnostics and
monitoring. In lay terms, that
includes the noninvasive procedure
of shining a certain kind of light
inside tissues. One of his research
fields is improving an imaging
method called Optical Coherence
Tomography (OCT) which, he
elucidates, is a promising new class
of diagnostic medical imaging
technology that utilizes advanced
photonics and fiber optics to obtain
images and tissue characterization
on a scale never before possible
within the human body. OCT
combines the principles of
ultrasound with the imaging
performance of a microscope, but
uses infrared light waves that reflect
off the internal microstructure
within the biological tissues. The
frequencies and bandwidths of
infrared light are orders of
magnitude higher than medical
ultrasound signals, resulting in
greatly increased image resolution.
“OCT is noninvasive and is
particularly suited for
ophthalmology – in measuring the
thickness of the macula or analyzing
individual layers of the retina, for
example – and dermatology, with a
special emphasis on skin cancer.
OCT can diagnosis fast-growing,
dangerous melanomas when they
are still in their earliest stages,
without having to do a biopsy. It can
also perform imaging in the brain –
it far outperforms existing options
of ultrasound and magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI). In short,
it's noninvasive, faster, cheaper and
provides much sharper images. We
are working on improving the
resolution of the OCT even further,
and have submitted a provisional
application for a patent,” he
explains.
Other promising electrooptic
research involves biosensors.
“Biosensors use nano-structured
materials (less than 100 nanos) to
enhance response and electromagnetic
fields by a factor of a
million. This increases optical
response (example: Raman
scattering) by a million,” says
Abdulhalim. “The purpose is to use
biosensors inside the body to
analyze analytes such as blood
sugar and cholesterol. We can also
use biosensors outside the body to
detect toxic materials and
contaminants to protect ourselves
from bioterrorism. For example, biosensor
chips in the water supply can
detect poisons.”
Another “hot” research field in
the domain of imaging and sensing
technology, says Abdulhalim, are socalled
T-rays. “T-rays are based on
the terahertz (THz) region of the
electromagnetic spectrum – defined
by frequencies from 0.1 to 10 THz,
just between infrared light and
There are over 400 companies in Israel in
electrooptics, so alumni have a better chance
of finding work in the field
microwave radiation. It is a
relatively new field that is also
opening the door to a wide variety
of applications,” he explains. “We
can use the new technology
combined with a special lens to
produce high resolution and sharp
images for biomedical applications.
For example, we hope to improve
early detection of skin cancer and
breast cancer. We have submitted a
provisional patent for this.”
After spending his childhood in
Kfar Manda, Abdulhalim lived for
many years in different cities in
Israel and around the globe. Upon
returning to Israel, he and his family
decided to make their home in
another village – Neve Shalom-
Wahat Al-salam, a unique
cooperative 50-family village of
Israeli Jews and Arabs in the center
of the country – where they have
lived for the past five years and
where they hope to make their
permanent home.
BGU NOW 19