Enhanced time-resolved imaging with a diffusion model of photon transport

Opt Lett. 1994 Mar 1;19(5):311-3. doi: 10.1364/ol.19.000311.

Abstract

Imaging through highly scattering media with transmitted photons with the shortest flight times is limited ultimately by the available number of photons with sufficiently short paths. A method is described that enhances the performance of the time-resolved imaging technique. A least-squares fit was obtained between the measured temporal distributions of transmitted light and a model of photon transport based on the diffusion approximation to the radiative transfer theory. Images constructed from the model estimates of short-path-length photon intensities provide information on internal structure, with a significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio compared with those that would be obtained directly from the data.