Acousto-optic imaging of absorbing structures using multiply scattered light

Summary form only given. The relatively weak attenuation of diffuse light as compared to ballistic light makes its use attractive for medical and biological imaging. A number of techniques have been developed to exploit diffuse light in imaging. These include imaging with diffuse photon density waves and the reconstruction from time-resolved transmission measurements. We have attempted to utilize acousto-optic modulation of diffuse light for imaging. We point out the consequences of the incoherent nature of the signal for tomographic imaging and demonstrate imaging of absorbing structures embedded within a strongly scattering medium with a resolution of approximately 2 mm. The sample that is excited by an ultrasound beam is illuminated by a laser beam.