Large field-of-view non-invasive imaging through scattering layers using fluctuating random illumination

TL;DR

This paper introduces a non-invasive fluorescence imaging method that overcomes the optical memory effect limit, enabling large field-of-view imaging through scattering layers without wavefront shaping.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel speckle pattern demixing approach using matrix factorization and fingerprint-based reconstruction, extending imaging beyond traditional limits.

Findings

Successfully images behind scattering layers with up to three times the optical memory effect range.

Method is robust across various fluorescent samples and does not require wavefront shaping.

Applicable to a wide range of incoherent contrast mechanisms and illumination schemes.

Abstract

On-invasive optical imaging techniques are essential diagnostic tools in many fields. Although various recent methods have been proposed to utilize and control light in multiple scattering media, non-invasive optical imaging through and inside scattering layers across a large field of view remains elusive due to the physical limits set by the optical memory effect, especially without wavefront shaping techniques. Here, we demonstrate an approach that enables non-invasive fluorescence imaging behind scattering layers with field-of-views extending well beyond the optical memory effect. The method consists in demixing the speckle patterns emitted by a fluorescent object under variable unknown random illumination, using matrix factorization and a novel fingerprint-based reconstruction. Experimental validation shows the efficiency and robustness of the method with various fluorescent samples, covering a field of view up to three times the optical memory effect range. Our non-invasive imaging technique is simple, neither requires a spatial light modulator nor a guide star, and can be generalized to a wide range of incoherent contrast mechanisms and illumination schemes.