Dynamic time domain near-infrared optical tomography based on a SPAD camera

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Medical Imaging Technology
• Photonics

Background:

• Dynamic changes in tissue oxygenation are crucial for various clinical applications.
• Time domain near-infrared optical tomography (TD NIROT) offers potential for observing these dynamic changes.
• Achieving fast imaging speeds remains a significant challenge for current TD NIROT systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To accelerate data acquisition for a handheld TD NIROT system.
• To enable rapid dynamic imaging of oxygenation changes.
• To validate the system's performance in a simulated tissue environment.

Main Methods:

• Developed a handheld TD NIROT system incorporating a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) camera and 11 light sources.
• Accelerated the data acquisition process for the TD NIROT system.
• Tested the system on a diffusive phantom simulating biological tissue with an embedded moving object.
• Utilized 3D image reconstruction techniques to analyze the acquired data.

Main Results:

• Successfully accelerated data acquisition for the TD NIROT system.
• The system accurately located a moving object within the simulated tissue.
• Effective 3D image reconstruction was achieved with a short exposure time of 0.2 seconds per source.

Conclusions:

• The accelerated TD NIROT system demonstrates feasibility for dynamic oxygenation monitoring.
• The use of SPAD cameras and optimized data acquisition enhances imaging speed.
• This technology holds promise for improved clinical applications requiring real-time tissue oxygenation assessment.