Claims
- 1. A method for imaging at least one object in a turbid medium comprising:
(a) directing incident energy wave from a source onto the turbid medium to obtain a plurality of emergent energy waves from the turbid medium; (b) determining the intensity data of at least part of the emergent energy waves by a plurality of detectors; (c) repeating the steps of a) and b) by placing the source of incident energy wave at different positions until data acquisition is substantially completed; and (d) processing the intensity data by using an image reconstruction algorithm comprising a forward physical model and a hybrid dual Fourier tomographic algorithm to inversely construct a three dimensional image of the object in the turbid medium.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the turbid medium produces a substantially planar backscattering energy surface and a substantially planar transmitted energy the sources are arranged in a first two dimensional array near and parallel to the backscattering planar surface, and the detectors are arranged in a second two dimensional array near and parallel to one of the backscattering planar surface and the transmitted planar surface.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the hybrid dual Fourier tomographic algorithm comprises a procedure as described in equations (1) through (4) in the summary of the invention.
- 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the procedure in equation (1) to equation (4) is solved as a N-dimensional dual deconvolution problem.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the turbid medium has a cylindrical surface, the sources of incident energy wave are arranged in a first circumference from the cylinder surface, and the detectors are arranged in a second circumference from the cylinder surface.
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the hybrid dual Fourier tomographic algorithm comprises a procedure as described in equations (5) through (8) in the summary of the invention.
- 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the emergent energy waves are selected from the group consisting of continuous waves, frequency domain waves, and time-resolved waves.
- 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the incident energy wave is selected from the group consisting of light, X-ray, micro-wave, sound, electrons, particles and mechanical vibration.
- 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the detectors are sensors for detecting signals of one of light, sound, electricity, and mechanical wave.
- 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the intensity data is a function of a space selected from the group consisting of position, time, wavelength spectrum and vibration mode.
- 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the forward physical model is based on a diffusion approximation of a Boltzmann radiative transfer equation as described in equations (17) through (18) in the description of preferred embodiments.
- 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the forward model comprises a model for diffusive time-resolved case as described in equations (19) through (20) in the description of preferred embodiments.
- 13. The method of claim 11 wherein the forward model comprises a model for diffusive continuous wave or frequency-domain case as described in equations (21) through (22) in the description of preferred embodiments.
- 14. The method of claim 1 wherein the forward physical model is based on an analytical cumulant solution to a Boltzmann photon transport equation as described in equations (10) through (16) in the description of preferred embodiments.
- 15. The method of claim 1 further comprising selecting regularization parameters to optimize the image reconstruction.
- 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of selecting the regularization parameters comprises one of an L-curve and a GCV method.
- 17. The method of claim 1 wherein the turbid medium is tissue, and the method further comprising a step of using a medical knowledge catalog system to correlate between tissue structures in the turbid medium to known tissue structures.
- 18. The method of claim 1 wherein the incident energy wave is produced by a laser selected from the group consisting of Ti:Sapphire laser, Cr4+ Forsterite laser, Cr4+ YAG laser, Cr4+—Ca2GeO3, Nd:YAG laser, and NIR semiconductor laser.
- 19. The method of claim 1 wherein the incident energy wave is selected from a group consisting of continuous wave, frequency-modulated wave and short pulse wave.
- 20. The method of claim 1 wherein the sources of incident energy wave is a plurality of light sources having different visible or near infrared wavelengths between 700 and 1500 nm.
- 21. The method of claim 1 wherein the turbid medium contains a first tissue structure, and the method further comprises determining a first wavelength of the incident energy wave to characterize the absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient of the first tissue structure and obtaining 3D maps of absorption coefficients and scattering coefficients by using the incident energy wave with the first wavelength.
- 22. The method of claim 21 wherein the turbid medium contains a second tissue structure, and the method further comprises:
determining a second wavelength of the incident wave to characterize the absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient of the second tissue structure and obtaining 3D maps of absorption coefficients and scattering coefficients by using the incident energy wave with the second wavelength; and differentiating the first tissue structure and the second tissue structure by their absorption coefficients and scattering coefficients.
- 23. The method of claim 1 wherein the turbid medium is a breast, the object is a plurality of specific tissue structures in the breast, the image data of the breast is determined at specific wavelengths for specific tissue structures for obtaining the 3D maps of at least one of tumors, cancer, precancerous tissue, and benign tissue of the breast.
- 24. The method of claim 1 wherein the intensity data of the emergent energy waves are collected by detectors located at different positions.
- 25. The method of claim 1 wherein the emergent energy wave is collected at different angles from the turbid medium.
- 26. The method of claim 1 wherein the intensity data of the emergent waves are collected by the detectors at different times.
- 27. The method of claim 26 wherein the time dependent intensity data are collected by using one of time gating Kerr system and ultrafast time gated intensified camera system.
- 28. The method of claim 1 wherein the turbid media is the breast, and the entire breast is tested at one time or multiple times by successively testing different local regions of the breast.
- 29. The method of claim 28 wherein the breast is compressed against a chest wall during testing, and the intensity data of the emergent energy waves that is backscattered from the breast is determined for reconstructing an image of the breast.
- 30. The method of claim 29 wherein the breast is compressed by two parallel transparent plates at two opposite sides of the breast.
- 31. The method of claim 1, wherein the turbid medium is one of biological plant tissue, animal tissue, and human tissue.
- 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the human tissue is selected from the group consisting of breast, brain, prostate, arteries, liver, kidney, joints, fingers, arms, and legs, and the object is selected from the group consisting of bones, calcification regions, arthritic tissue, tumors, cancer, precancerous tissue, and benign tissue.
- 33. The method of claim 1 wherein the turbid medium is selected from the group consisting of cloud, fog, smog, dust, and smoke, and the object is selected from the group consisting of airplanes, tanks, peoples, and buildings.
- 34. The method of claim 1 wherein the turbid medium is selected from the group consisting of semiconductors, ceramics, dielectrics, and the object is defects in the turbid medium.
- 35. The method of claim 1 wherein the turbid medium is paint, and the object is the corrosion under the paint.
- 36. A system for imaging an object in a turbid medium comprising:
(a) a source for directing an incident energy wave onto the turbid medium to obtain a plurality of emergent energy waves from the turbid medium; (b) a plurality of detectors disposed along the propagation paths of at least part of the emergent energy waves for determining the intensity data of the emergent energy waves; and (c) a data processor connected to the detectors to process the obtained intensity data and produce a three dimensional image of the object in the turbid media, wherein the data processor is programmed to execute an inverse algorithm based on a forward physical model to process the intensity data, and the inverse algorithm is a hybrid dual Fourier tomographic algorithm.
- 37. The system of claim 36 further comprising a plurality of sources at different positions.
- 38. The system of claim 36 further comprising a display connected to the data processor for displaying the three dimensional image.
- 39. The system of claim 36 wherein the turbid medium produces a substantially planar backscattering energy surface and a substantially planar transmitted energy surface, the sources are arranged in a first two dimensional array being near and parallel with the backscattering plane surface, and the detectors are arranged in a second two dimensional array being near and parallel with one of the backscattering plane surface and the transmitted plane surface.
- 40. The system of claim 36 wherein the turbid medium has a substantially cylindrical surface, the sources are arranged in a first circumference of the cylinder surface, and the detectors are arranged in a second circumference of the cylinder surface.
- 41. The system of claim 36 wherein the incident wave is selected from the group consisting of light, X-ray, microwave, sound, electrons, particles, and mechanical vibration.
- 42. The method of claim 36 wherein the detectors are sensors for detecting signals selected from the group consisting of light, sound, electricity, and mechanical wave.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/386,054, which was filed on Jun. 5, 2002.
STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
[0002] This Invention was made, in part, with Government support awarded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC). The Government may have certain rights in this invention.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60386054 |
Jun 2002 |
US |