Spatial frequency domain imager based on a compact multiaperture camera: testing and feasibility for noninvasive burn...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Medical Imaging
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (SFDI) is a powerful technique for quantitative mapping of tissue optical properties.
• Existing SFDI systems can be bulky and complex, limiting their use in certain settings.
• There is a need for compact, user-friendly SFDI devices for broader clinical and research applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a compact SFDI imager utilizing a novel multispectral compound-eye camera.
• To validate the imager's performance in measuring optical properties of tissue phantoms and in a preclinical burn wound model.
• To assess the potential for non-specialist use in low-resource environments.

Main Methods:

• A compound-eye camera with a subdivided CMOS sensor, bandpass filters, and objective lenses was constructed.
• The imager's performance was compared against a commercial SFDI system and a laboratory-based setup.
• Optical phantoms and a murine model of thermal burns were used for validation, with histology confirming burn severity.

Main Results:

• The compound-eye SFDI imager accurately measured optical properties of tissue-simulating phantoms, showing good agreement with established systems.
• In the murine burn model, decreased reduced scattering coefficients were observed in burn areas compared to pre-burn measurements.
• Histological analysis confirmed the severity of thermal burns, correlating with optical property changes.

Conclusions:

• A compact, multispectral SFDI imager was successfully developed using a compound-eye camera.
• The device enables simultaneous multi-wavelength acquisition for quantitative tissue optical property analysis.
• This technology shows significant potential for translation to non-specialist use in resource-limited settings for superficial tissue evaluation.