Perspective: Principles and specifications of photothermal imaging methodologies and their applications to non-invasive biomedical and non-destructive materials imaging

Abstract

This article discusses a number of dynamic thermography techniques used for analysis of captured raw infrared images of objects. The most widely used, as well as state-of-the-art, modalities are outlined in terms of their operating principles and their specifications. Special attention is paid to truncated correlation photothermal coherence tomography, a novel method that provides high contrast and high resolution 3D images of objects. Applications of thermography in medical imaging, art analysis, and non-destructive imaging of industrial materials are discussed.