Location
Havener Center, Meramec Gasconade Room, 1:30pm-3:30pm
Start Date
4-2-2026 1:30 PM
End Date
4-2-2026 2:00 PM
Presentation Date
April 2, 2026; 1:30pm-2:00pm
Description
Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) enable deep, non-invasive sensing in biological tissue but are fundamentally limited by the photon budget - most injected light is lost to scattering before reaching the detector. Wavefront shaping (WFS) can enhance signal strength inside scattering media via interference, but the conventional diffusion-based sensitivity model breaks down under coherent illumination. We develop a microscopic theory of optical sensitivity that captures interference effects neglected by diffusion theory. We prove analytically that the microscopic and diffusive descriptions coincide under random illumination and identify WFS strategies that enhance sensitivity beyond this limit. The maximum remission eigenchannel (MRE) achieves global sensitivity enhancement with a fixed, non-invasively obtainable input wavefront preserving the spatial profile of the sensitivity map and thus remaining compatible with existing DOT reconstruction algorithms.
Biography
I am a Physics PhD student studying wave transport in complex media, with an emphasis on light propagation in strongly scattering systems. My research focuses on developing theoretical and numerical models to harness coherent wave effects for enhanced sensitivity to perturbations within disordered media. These advances are directly relevant to optical sensing and imaging applications. Following the completion of my PhD, I intend to pursue a postdoctoral position and continue research in wave physics, expanding into related areas of optical and complex systems.
Meeting Name
2026 - Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference
Department(s)
Physics
Document Type
Presentation
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2026 The Authors, All rights reserved
Harnessing wavefront shaping control for sensing applications
Havener Center, Meramec Gasconade Room, 1:30pm-3:30pm
Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) enable deep, non-invasive sensing in biological tissue but are fundamentally limited by the photon budget - most injected light is lost to scattering before reaching the detector. Wavefront shaping (WFS) can enhance signal strength inside scattering media via interference, but the conventional diffusion-based sensitivity model breaks down under coherent illumination. We develop a microscopic theory of optical sensitivity that captures interference effects neglected by diffusion theory. We prove analytically that the microscopic and diffusive descriptions coincide under random illumination and identify WFS strategies that enhance sensitivity beyond this limit. The maximum remission eigenchannel (MRE) achieves global sensitivity enhancement with a fixed, non-invasively obtainable input wavefront preserving the spatial profile of the sensitivity map and thus remaining compatible with existing DOT reconstruction algorithms.
Comments
Advisor: Alexey Yamilov, yamilov@mst.edu