In-home imaging

The researchers first used the new setup to image metal objects embedded in a gelatin mold roughly resembling skin's water content. They imaged the same gelatin using a commercial ultrasound probe and found both images were encouragingly similar. They moved on to image excised animal tissue — in this case, pig skin — where they found laser ultrasound could distinguish subtler features, such as the boundary between muscle, fat, and bone.


Finally, the team carried out the first laser ultrasound experiments in humans, using a protocol that was approved by the MIT Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects. After scanning the forearms of several healthy volunteers, the researchers produced the first fully noncontact laser ultrasound images of a human. The fat, muscle, and tissue boundaries are clearly visible and comparable to images generated using commercial, contact-based ultrasound probes.

The researchers plan to improve their technique, and they are looking for ways to boost the system's performance to resolve fine features in the tissue. They are also looking to hone the detection laser's capabilities. Further down the road, they hope to miniaturize the laser setup, so that laser ultrasound might one day be deployed as a portable device.

"I can imagine a scenario where you're able to do this in the home," Anthony says. "When I get up in the morning, I can get an image of my thyroid or arteries, and can have in-home physiological imaging inside of my body. You could imagine deploying this in the ambient environment to get an understanding of your internal state."

This research was supported in part by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Biomedical Line Program for the United States Air Force and by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command's Military Operational Medicine Research Program.

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