Enhancing portability, modularity, and optode density in translational diffuse optical imaging

Abstract

The use of diffuse optical imaging (DOI) in medical applications is growing at a rapid pace due to its non-invasive, non-ionizing, and potentially portable nature. DOI's ability to provide functional assessments in various areas of the body has accelerated our ability to diagnose malignant breast lesions and measure brain functions. Some of these accomplishments have been achieved through the use of highly-sensitive and bulky equipment that, unfortunately, has made these systems complex to build, costly to maintain, and difficult to transport. Additionally, the large number of individual sources and detectors needed not only make each measurement time-consuming but also introduces coupling variations that make data analysis difficult. Designing increasingly powerful, versatile, and at the same time, sophisticated optical imaging systems requires careful consideration of numerous trade-offs between multiple competing factors, including fabrication, ergonomic, environmental, safety, usability, mechanical, and data communication considerations. Recently, in order to scale the application of near-infrared (NIR) optical imaging, the field has trended towards architectural designs that allow for both faster acquisition times and use in naturalistic environments. In this dissertation, we investigate and further advance a number of emerging DOI instrument design methodologies to tackle a series of challenges in the clinical translation of DOI. These include the design of low-cost and ultra-portable mobile-phone-based spectroscopic tools to facilitate disease diagnosis in resource-poor regions, a modular and wearable optical brain imaging system for understanding brain functions in natural settings, and a wide-field high-density optical breast imaging system for cancer diagnosis. We leverage innovations in computational methods, advanced electronic sensors, and ubiquitous devices to demonstrate the potentially broad application of NIR imaging across populations and settings. We particularly focus our intent on the scalability of diffuse optical imaging through improving architectural attributes such as portability, modularity, and optode density to provide real-life examples of ways to address the current challenges of developing, evaluating, and optimizing portable high-performance DOI systems. --Author's abstract