Abstract

Diffuse optical tomography stands poised as one of the most promising neuroimaging technology that are well-suited to transition from research in tightly controlled, laboratory environments to real-world, practical use cases. This work explores the performance and capabilities of the technology as more naturalism is introduced into the scan, as a framework to build towards usability with truly natural situations. We discuss diffuse optical tomography, introduce recent advancements in portable devices, and demonstrate their capabilities under typical, laboratory conditions. We then test the technology under more challenging and naturalistic conditions, including with large and small movements, natural locomotion, and even social interactions. The new device outperforms traditional instruments under the challenging conditions, and is capable of imaging with new, more naturalistic behaviors that are impossible with traditional neuroimaging technologies.

Committee Chair

Joseph Culver

Committee Members

Daniel Moran; Dennis Barbour; Joshua Shimony; Tamara Hershey

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Author's Department

Biomedical Engineering

Author's School

McKelvey School of Engineering

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

8-17-2026

Language

English (en)

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Available for download on Saturday, August 14, 2027

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