Abstract

Multispectral tissue imaging based on optical cameras and continuous-wave tissue illumination is commonly used in medicine and biology. Surprisingly, there is a characteristic absence of a critical look at the quantities that can be uniquely characterized from optically diffuse matter by multispectral imaging. Here, we investigate the fundamental question of uniqueness in epi-illumination measurements from turbid media obtained at multiple wavelengths. By utilizing an analytical model, tissue-mimicking phantoms, and an in vivo imaging experiment we show that independent of the bands employed, spectral measurements cannot uniquely retrieve absorption and scattering coefficients. We also establish that it is, nevertheless, possible to uniquely quantify oxygen saturation and the Mie scattering power—a previously undocumented uniqueness condition.

© 2016 Optical Society of America

Quantitative blood oxygen saturation imaging using combined photoacoustics and acousto-optics

Altaf Hussain, Wilma Petersen, Jacob Staley, Erwin Hondebrink, and Wiendelt Steenbergen
Opt. Lett. 41(8) 1720-1723 (2016)

Second-harmonic illumination to enhance multispectral digital lensless holographic microscopy

Omel Mendoza-Yero, Miguel Carbonell-Leal, Jesús Lancis, and Jorge Garcia-Sucerquia
Opt. Lett. 41(5) 1062-1065 (2016)

Snap-shot multispectral imaging of vascular dynamics in a mouse window-chamber model

Hansford C. Hendargo, Yulin Zhao, Taylor Allenby, and Gregory M. Palmer
Opt. Lett. 40(14) 3292-3295 (2015)

Printed optics: phantoms for quantitative deep tissue fluorescence imaging

Brian Z. Bentz, Anna G. Bowen, Dergan Lin, Daniel Ysselstein, Davin H. Huston, Jean-Christophe Rochet, and Kevin J. Webb
Opt. Lett. 41(22) 5230-5233 (2016)

Single all-fiber-based nanosecond-pulsed supercontinuum source for multispectral photoacoustic microscopy and optical coherence tomography

Xiao Shu, Magalie Bondu, Biqin Dong, Adrian Podoleanu, Lasse Leick, and Hao F. Zhang
Opt. Lett. 41(12) 2743-2746 (2016)