Virtual source patterns for fluorescence tomography

In order to reduce both acquisition and reconstruction times, illumination and detection in fluorescence molecular tomography have recently evolved from a point-based to a pattern-based approach. However, the choice of the best set of source patterns to project onto the sample is still an open problem. Here, we introduce a novel method, namely the virtual source patterns method, which allows for considering patterns with negative intensities. This method is shown to significantly increase the contrast and to reduce the reconstruction error.