Time-Domain Diffuse Raman Spectroscopy

Diffuse Raman Spectroscopy (DIRS) combines the high chemical specificity of spontaneous Raman scattering with the aptness of Diffuse Optics to investigate highly diffusive media (e.g. biological tissues) non-invasively. Recently, this field has witnessed an impressive growth due to the introduction of Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) which permits to probe diffusive media in-depth, leading to flourishing applications in the field of clinical diagnostics, quality assessment of pharmaceuticals, cultural heritage, safety and security.
Our DIRS laboratory exploits a novel approach based on the adoption of time-domain detection of diffuse Raman photons migrating through the scattering material. This approach, as compared to the classical CW techniques (e.g. SORS), has the advantage to encode the visiting depth probability in the photon travelling time, permitting depth-resolved reconstruction of Raman emitters and in perspective non-invasive Raman tomography.
The thesis activity can be focalised on some of the following aspects: 1) system development with emphasis on novel detection strategies (via e.g. compress sensing); 2) design of multi-layered and tomographic reconstruction algorithms; 3) validation on tissue-equivalent phantoms; 4) initial in vivo applications with non-invasive assessment of biological structures on healthy volunteers.