High-resolution real-time three-dimensional imaging through turbid media using photorefractive holography

Summary form only given. Imaging through tissue using ballistic light is important for biomedical applications such as diagnosing and/or monitoring skin cancer and other dermatological conditions. Various approaches demonstrated include confocal imaging, time gating, and coherence gating (e.g., optical coherence tomography), which may provide three-dimensional (3D) images, pixel by pixel. The authors´ whole-field imaging technique, using photorefractive holography, is motivated by a desire to develop in vivo applications for which rapid image acquisition time is a priority. It is related to coherence gating techniques such as optical heterodyne detection and electronic and light-in-flight holography, but differs in that it is, to first order, insensitive to an incoherent diffuse light background. The use of photorefractive multiple quantum well (MQW) devices allows for fast holographic image recording, and the ability to write holograms over a broad spectral range permits real-time spectrally resolved 3D imaging.