9624617 Izatt This CAREER proposal combines research and educational initiatives in the field of biomedical engineering. The proposed research program is directed toward the development of new techniques for sub-surface, optical tomographic imaging in biological tissues with microscopic resolution. This will be accomplished by developing advances based on optical coherence tomography, a novel coherence-domain (interferometric) optical measurement technique derived from state-of-the-art fiber-optic optical communications technologies. The proposed research will have applications in biotechnology and minimally invasive medical diagnostics such as endoscopy and laparoscopy. Several novel concepts are proposed for increasing the resolution and contrast of coherence-domain imaging. Optical coherence tomography will be combined with confocal microscopy in order to perform microscopy with single micron resolution up to several millimeters deep in intact biological tissues. Novel digital signal processing algorithms will be developed for improving the resolution of optical coherence tomography images using deconvolution. A new ultra-broadbandwidth laser source will be developed to enable combined high-speed and high-resolution optical coherence tomography imaging. The latter two techniques will be particularly useful in applications such as minimally invasive medical diagnostics in which the numerical aperture of the optical imaging system is restricted. Methods are also proposed for increasing the contrast in coherence-domain optical imaging by taking advantage of the spectral properties of light scattered from tissues. A unique system will be developed for acquiring optical coherence tomography images at two different optical wavelengths simultaneously. This system will employ a pair of wavelengths in the near-infrared with differential absorption characteristics in water, and will generate images of tissue hydration. Finally, unique digital signal processi ng algorithms will be developed for extracting the depth-resolved backscatter spectrum of tissue samples over limited wavelength ranges. This last technique constitutes the first description of simultaneous tomographic optical imaging and depth-resolved backscatter spectroscopy for the first time, and may find applications in early cancer diagnosis. Each of the proposed technical advances will be implemented in the laboratory and tested for improvements in diagnostic potential against current standard imaging techniques. In addition to the proposed research program, two educational initiatives will be undertaken. A Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) graduate Biomedical Engineering course on Optical Sensing and Imaging in Biomedicine will be developed to address a nationwide need for advances in teaching techniques and pedagogical materials in this field. A continuing medical education course on Endoscopic Imaging Technology will be developed in collaboration with expert endoscopists and offered to practicing physicians. The latter initiative takes advantage of the principal investigator's unique access to the medical education environment to provide instruction to physicians in physical science and engineering principles. By providing educational training for students and medical professionals, as well as directly supporting participation of students in the research program, the overall proposal closely integrates research and teaching aspects of the principal investigator's planned career development. ***
