Abstract
We present a system for near infrared functional tomography based on a single pulsed source and a time-gated camera, for non-contact collection over a large area. The mean penetration depth of diffusely reflected photons is dependent on the arrival time of photons, but not on the source–detector distance. Thus, time-encoded data can be used to recover depth information while photon exiting point is exploited for lateral localization. This approach was tested against simulations, demonstrating both detection and localization capabilities. Preliminary measurements on inhomogeneous phantoms showed good detection sensibility, even for a low optical perturbation, and localization capabilities, yet with decreasing spatial resolution for increasing depths. Potential application of this method to in vivo functional studies on the brain is discussed.
Highlights
Light is a powerful tool for in-vivo investigation of biological tissues
We present a system for near infrared functional tomography based on a single pulsed source and a time-gated camera, for non-contact collection over a large area
We have proposed a novel scheme to functional tomography based on a single source injection point and on a time-gated Intensified CCD camera (ICCD) camera for detection
Summary
Light is a powerful tool for in-vivo investigation of biological tissues. In the 600-1100 nm range it is not harmful for biological media at low power densities (few mW/mm2), permitting design of in vivo non-invasive diagnostics. The low tissue absorption in this wavelength range makes it possible to look into the body at few cm of depth (e.g. the brain cortex) or through more than 6 cm of tissue in transmission (e.g. compressed breast). In the same spectral range most tissues are highly scattering. This is a most severe challenge causing scattering to absorption coupling, strong attenuation of the remitted light with exponential dependence on the visited depth, blurring effects impairing spatial resolution
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