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An optical approach to determine the hydration level in human skin is presented. The approach is based on temporal tracking of back-reflected secondary speckle patterns generated while illuminating the tested area with a laser and applying periodic vibrations to the surface via a controlled vibration source (CVS). This approach has already been tested successfully for other biomedical parameters such as sensing vital signs, hematology and hemodynamic processes in the body. In this paper we examine and adjust this optical technique with the aim of measuring human skin moisture. We compare the suitability and accuracy of our optical method to the commercially available device for skin moisture measurements, the Corneometer CM 825 (by Courage + Khazaka, Cologne, Germany). Preliminary experiments showing the method's suitability for hydration measurements are presented, may lead to more accurate results that may upgrade the control of the cosmetic industry as well as identifying symptoms of moisture-related skin diseases.

A novel method for non-contact and continuous detection of photoacoustic signals is presented and experimentally demonstrated. The approach is based on analysis of the contrast of time-varying speckle patterns, and suggests a more robust alternative in respect to interferometric and refractometric available solutions.

In this paper, we propose a simple, inexpensive optical device for remote measurement of various agricultural parameters. The sensor is based on temporal tracking of backreflected secondary speckle patterns generated when illuminating a plant with a laser and while applying periodic acoustic-based pressure stimulation. By analyzing different parameters using a support-vector-machine-based algorithm, peanut kernel abortion can be detected remotely. This paper presents experimental tests which are the first step toward an implementation of a noncontact device for the detection of agricultural parameters such as kernel abortion.