Research activities in the group are in the area of near-infrared spectroscopy of tissue for diagnostic, functional, and imaging applications.  Light propagation in tissue is modeled with diffusion theory.

Representative projects in the lab include:

Optical study of muscle hemodynamics and oxygenation
Near-infrared methods can be used to measure the blood flow, oxygen consumption, and oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in skeletal muscle. We use this technique to investigate and model muscle hemodynamic and metabolic responses to exercise and/or vascular occlusion.

Optical mammography
This project aims at developing a novel imaging tool to detect breast cancer by using safe near-infrared light in a non-invasive and painless approach. A novel spectral imaging approach, aimed at quantitative oximetry, has produced optical density images and second-derivative images of a healthy human subject at every 0.5 nm in the wavelength range 650-900 nm.

Optical imaging of the human brain
This project consists of developing a non-invasive optical instrument for functional imaging of the human brain. Optical brain imaging is performed as a stand alone technique or in combination with fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging).

Optical response to electrical stimulation in peripheral nerves
This project investigates the optical signals on a time scale of 10-100 ms associated with fast (0.1 ms) electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves.

Diffuse optical imaging with enhanced spatial resolution and depth discrimination
In this project, we investigate the potential of phased-array combinations of light sources and optical detectors to enhance the performance of diffuse optical imaging.