Imaging through turbid (highly scattering) media such as biological tissue, milk, fog, or blood is a major challenge in scientific research, medical diagnostics, and industrial inspection. Traditional imaging techniques struggle with significant light scattering, leading to poor resolution, low contrast, and limited penetration depth. This hinders applications like high-resolution imaging inside biological tissues, quality inspection in opaque fluids, and visibility in adverse weather conditions.

The Solution
Utilizing specially structured “non-diffracting” beams, combined with a point scanning technique, can maintain their shape and trajectory even when propagating through highly scattering media. This enables the selective illumination of target locations deep within turbid environments, significantly improving image acquisition. The method works for both contrast (reflection) and fluorescence imaging, requires only low laser power, and is amenable to simple optical setups.

Potential Applications
•  Biomedical Imaging: Visualizing vessel walls and sub-surface features through blood or tissue for research and diagnostics
•  Food and Beverage Industry: Rapid quality assessment of opaque liquids such as milk and wine
•  Environmental and Safety Monitoring: Enhancing visibility through fog, sandstorms, or rain for navigation and remote sensing.
•  Biological Research: Imaging through dense cell suspensions or complex fluids that scatter light strongly

By overcoming the challenges of scattering, the technique provides significant advantages for industries and researchers seeking accurate, efficient, and non-destructive imaging capabilities.

Patents 
Patent WO2018029678A1 granted