Title :
Towards brain imaging using THz technology
Author :
Bakopoulos, P. ; Karanasiou, I. ; Zakynthinos, P. ; Pleros, N. ; Avramopoulos, H. ; Uzunoglu, N.
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Nat. Tech. Univ. of Athens, Athens
Abstract :
We demonstrate recent advances towards the development of a novel 2-D THz imaging system for brain imaging applications both at macroscopic and at biomolecule level. A frequency synthesized THz source based on difference frequency generation between optical wavelengths is presented, utilizing supercontinuum generation in a highly-nonlinear optical fiber with subsequent spectral carving by means of a fiber Fabry-Perot filter. Experimental results confirm the successful generation of THz radiation in the range of 0.2-2 THz, verifying the enhanced frequency tunability properties of the proposed system. Finally, the roadmap towards capturing functional brain information by exploiting THz imaging technologies is discussed, outlining the unique advantages offered by THz frequencies and their complementarity with existing brain imaging techniques.
Keywords :
biomedical optical imaging; brain; microwave photonics; molecular biophysics; neurophysiology; optical fibre filters; optical frequency conversion; supercontinuum generation; terahertz wave imaging; 2-D terahertz imaging system; biomolecule level; brain imaging applications; difference frequency generation; fiber Fabry-Perot filter; frequency 0.2 THz to 2 THz; frequency synthesized terahertz source; frequency tunability; highly-nonlinear optical fiber; optical wavelengths; supercontinuum generation; Biomedical optical imaging; Brain; Fabry-Perot; Fiber nonlinear optics; Frequency synthesizers; Molecular biophysics; Optical fibers; Optical filters; Optical imaging; Supercontinuum generation; Difference Frequency Generation; Fabry-Perot filter; biomolecule “fingerprint”; neural function; supercontinuum generation; terahertz imaging;
Conference_Titel :
Imaging Systems and Techniques, 2008. IST 2008. IEEE International Workshop on
Conference_Location :
Crete
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2496-2
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2497-9
DOI :
10.1109/IST.2008.4659930
