Imaging through scattering media under strong ambient light interference via the lock-in process

Area of Science:

• Optics
• Biomedical Imaging
• Photonics

Background:

• Scattered light imaging techniques often fail in noisy environments due to optical interference.
• Existing methods are typically restricted to dark field conditions, limiting practical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a high-performance scattered light imaging method robust to optical noise.
• To enable imaging in low signal-to-background ratio (SBR) environments.

Main Methods:

• Integration of a lock-in process into scattered light imaging.
• Experimental validation in low SBR conditions.

Main Results:

• Successful imaging demonstrated in environments with SBR as low as -28.0 dB.
• Demonstrated directional separation of targets based on distinct modulation frequencies.
• Overcame the limitations of traditional dark-field imaging.

Conclusions:

• The proposed lock-in imaging technique significantly expands the applicability of scattered light imaging.
• Enables convenient in vivo microscopy and daytime astronomical observations by removing dark-field constraints.