Optical and system design for THz medical imaging using spatially resolved hydration mapping

Summary form only given. THz medical imaging has made significant advances in the years since the first results were published in the late 1990s. The field has benefited significantly from advances in source/detector technology, room temperature component operation, and extensive spectroscopic studies of the THz properties of tissue. Additionally, clinical translation of THz medical imaging technology in the US has been aided by the establishment of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) in 2000. While progress has been promising, wide scale clinical translation of THz technology has not yet materialized. In this talk we focus on receiver system design, optical system design, and diagnostic applications intended to maximize the rate of clinical acceptance of THz medical imaging technology. Receiver architectures and novel optical concepts will be presented that are implemented to trade away unused information for gains in image acquisition time, robustness to target clutter, and sensitivity to gradients in surface tissue water content. Following system discussions three applications will be presented: corneal hydration sensing, burn wound edema imaging, and explorations into the physiologic response of the body to histamine. Each of these applications benefit from spatially resolved hydration mapping; a capability enabled by THz imaging and not feasible with traditional medical imaging modalities. In vivo animal image results are presented.