Imaging of in vitro and in vivo bones and joints with continuous-wave diffuse optical tomography

WWe present what is believed to be the first absorption and scattering images of in vitro and in vivo bones and joints from continuous-wave tomographic measurements. Human finger and chicken bones embedded in cylindrical scattering media were imaged at multiple transverse planes with Clemson multi-channel diffuse optical imager. Both absorption and scattering images were obtained using our nonlinear, finite element based reconstruction algorithm. This study shows that diffuse optical tomography (DOT) has the potential to be used for detection and monitoring of bone and joint diseases such as osteoporosis and arthritis.