Harmonic Optical Tomography: 3D imaging goes an octave higher

Harmonic Optical Tomography is better at revealing inhomogeneous tissue structure than SHG. — *Imaging the muscles in mice with standard techniques, left, and with harmonic optical tomography (HOT). HOT is better at revealing the structure of the tissue.*

The Quantitative Light Imaging Laboratory at UIUC in collaboration with researchers at Colorado State University published a paper in Nature Photonics that introduces Harmonic Optical Tomography (HOT): a novel label-free technique for 3D tomography of inhomogeneous objects (nonlinear crystals and tissue specimens). HOT was demonstrated on microscopic defects that are embedded in a beta-barium borate (BBO) crystal and various tissues.

The technique can potentially be used to assist with diagnosing cancer and other diseases. HOT uses holographic information, which measures light patterns, to generate 3D images of a sample. The technique has promising applications in cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Read more in Beckman Institute news report.