ABSTRACT
This chapter explores state-of-the-art methods, hardware, and applications, beginning with an overview of the needs addressed by such optical techniques. It also explores the technical basis of Medical optical imaging and spectroscopy; for those readers with a primary interest in clinical applications and describes with medical applications and a set of collected optical images. For brain monitoring, it may be that a combination of structural imaging, functional oxygenation, blood volume and blood flow imaging, and scattering monitoring will all be important in determining tissue health and risk of injury. The initial measurements of path in tissue used a time-based method and were made using large, immobile ultrashort laser systems and detection optics in model systems. Fine structure of noise in the scattering image can be seen when the scattering scale is expanded. Some of this structure is repeatable from scan to scan, while other features appear randomly.
