back Back

New deep-light imaging could radically improve multiple disease diagnoses

Jul. 11, 2023.
1 min. read. 14 Interactions

When increasing scattered light increases imaging quality

About the writer

Amara Angelica

217.83675 MPXR

Amara Angelica is Senior Editor, Mindplex

Multiple scattered light paths for imaging can lead to improved image contrast for imaging diseases, compared to single backscattering (credit: University of St Andrews et al)

An international team of researchers has made a technology breakthrough in one of the most important forms of biological light imaging, “optical coherence tomography” (OCT). The finding could revolutionize applications in ophthalmology, dermatology, cardiology, and the early detection of cancer.

OCT imaging relies on backscattered light in tissues (when light passes between different layers of cells, for example). But there’s a limit to imaging quality (think driving very slowly with headlights on in a fog). In bio tissue, the limit is about 1 millimeter (well beyond conventional microscopy).

Now an international team of researchers* has found a counterintuitive workaround: increase the scattering, using multiple paths and different depths, as explained in Science Advances journal.

* The University of Adelaide (Australia), Technical University of Denmark, Aerospace Corporation (USA) and academics from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews (Scotland).

Citation: Untracht, G. R., Chen, M., Wijesinghe, P., Mas, J., Yura, H. T., Marti, D., Andersen, P. E., & Dholakia, K. (2023). Spatially offset optical coherence tomography: Leveraging multiple scattering for high-contrast imaging at depth in turbid media. Science Advances, Volume 9 | Issue 27 July 2023. https://doi.org/adh5435 (open-access)

Let us know your thoughts! Sign up for a Mindplex account now, join our Telegram, or follow us on Twitter

Comment on this content

1 Comments

One thought on “New deep-light imaging could radically improve multiple disease diagnoses

  1. good
    Like
    Dislike
    Share
    Reply

11

Like

Dislike

Share

1

Comments
Reactions
💯 💘 😍 🎉 👏
🟨 😴 😡 🤮 💩

Here is where you pick your favorite article of the month. An article that collected the highest number of picks is dubbed "People's Choice". Our editors have their pick, and so do you. Read some of our other articles before you decide and click this button; you can only select one article every month.

People's Choice
Bookmarks