CAREER: Optical Intensity Diffraction Tomography with Multiple Scattering

体层摄影术是一种强大的技术，在生命科学和医学诊断中有着广泛的应用。光学断层扫描是特别有吸引力的，因为它是非侵入性的，并使用非电离辐射。光学断层扫描的最新发展集中在推动成像深度，这是由许多重要需求（包括深部组织成像和脑光刺激）所激发的。然而，现有的光学层析成像设备只能提供高达~100微米的高分辨率成像，受到单散射近似的限制。这个职业计划的目标是通过推进基础理论和实际设备来克服这一限制。该计划将建立新的基于多重散射的层析成像模型，允许有效地利用多重散射光中包含的信息。 一种新型的光学设备的基础上的强度衍射层析成像将开发简单的实验装置，以方便采用现有的显微镜系统。该计划的成果可以通过提供研究生物样本和现象的手段来实现科学和生物医学发现，这些生物样本和现象在组织学，细胞计数，脑成像和药物发现等领域无法获得。此外，该研究课题将被转化为一个新的“创新盒子”实践课程，并通过波士顿大学技术创新学者计划广泛传播给初中和高中学生。 该教育计划将致力于提高学生对STEM学科的兴趣和知识，并为研究生、本科生和高中生提供多学科培训，这些学生的背景各异，尤其是女性、少数民族和历史上代表性不足的群体。技术：该CAREER计划旨在开发新型光学成像设备，充分利用多重散射，在高散射介质中实现高分辨率成像。复杂介质中的电磁散射问题是一个重要的基础性课题，由于它影响着许多重要的应用，因此一直吸引着理论和实验的努力。由于多次散射的多自由度性和测量条件的限制，目前逆散射问题的求解仍然比较困难。为了克服这些限制，该计划将重点放在（a）新的物理模型和逆多重散射算法在透射和反射使用强度只有层析测量;和（B）创新的空间相干性和多光谱照明工程解决方案。预期成果包括：i）新的基于多重散射的理论，算法和设备，可以导致高散射物体的高分辨率3D成像; ii）透射和反射层析成像中的3D相位恢复的理论和实验进步; iii）用于自适应相干工程的新设备设计原理，以利用多重散射信息。该项目将通过共同设计光学器件和算法，打破传统限制，从根本上建立对无标记、基于散射的成像的新理解，并开发新一代计算成像传感器和设备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Tomography is a powerful technique that has found wide applications in life science and medical diagnosis. Optical tomography is particularly attractive since it is noninvasive and uses non-ionizing radiation. Recent development to optical tomography focuses on pushing the imaging depth, as motivated by many important needs including deep tissue imaging and brain photostimulations. However, existing optical tomography devices can only provide high-resolution imaging up to ~100 microns, limited by the single-scattering approximation. The goal of this CAREER program is to overcome this limitation by advancing both fundamental theory and practical devices. This program will establish novel multiple-scattering based tomography models that allow efficiently utilizing the information contained in the multiply scattered light. A new type of optical devices based on the intensity diffraction tomography will be developed with simple experimental setups to facilitate easy adoption to existing microscope systems. The outcome of this program can enable scientific and biomedical discoveries by providing means to study biological samples and phenomena that would be otherwise not accessible, in areas such as histology, cytometry, brain mapping, and drug discovery. In addition, the research subject will be translated to a new "Innovation in a Box" hands-on curriculum and disseminated broadly to middle and high-school students through the Boston University Technology Innovation Scholars Program. The education program will focus on raising both interest and knowledge of STEM subjects and providing multidisciplinary training to graduate, undergraduate, and high-school students with diverse background, in particular women, minorities, and historically under-represented groups.Technical:This CAREER program aims to develop novel optical imaging devices that fully utilize multiple scattering to enable high-resolution imaging in highly scattering media. Scattering in complex media is a fundamental subject that continuously attracts theoretical and experimental endeavors, since it impacts many important applications. To date, solving the inverse-scattering problem remains difficult due to the many degrees of freedom in multiple scattering, and incomplete information limited by the measurement condition. To overcome these limitations, this program will focus on (a) novel physical models and inverse multiple scattering algorithms in both transmission and reflection using intensity-only tomographic measurement; and (b) innovative spatial coherence and multispectral illumination engineering solutions. The anticipated outcomes include: i) new multiple scattering-based theory, algorithms, and devices that can lead to high-resolution 3D imaging of highly scattering objects; ii) theoretical and experimental advancement to 3D phase retrieval in both transmission and reflection tomography; iii) new device design principles for adaptive coherence engineering to harness the multiple scattering information. Broadly, the program will establish fundamentally new understandings of label-free, scatter-based imaging and develop new generation of computational imaging sensors and devices by jointly designing optics and algorithms to break the conventional limits.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.