High-bandwidth optical tomography

Optical tomography has recently demonstrated the potential for deep imaging of tissue oxygenation and blood volume, non-invasively, using relatively simple and inexpensive instrumentation. Prior demonstrations of this form of tomography have relied on scanning and data collecting methods limited to imaging bandwidths of Hz or slower. Here we report on an approach that significantly accelerates the imaging rate of optical tomographs based on time-domain methods to well beyond the kHz range. Such high bandwidths are critical for extending the capabilities of optical tomographs to include deep imaging of blood now and neural activity.