For functional neuroimaging, existing small-animal diffuse optical tomography (DOT) systems either do not provide adequate temporal sampling rates, have sparse spatial sampling, or have limited three-dimensional fields of view. To achieve adequate frame rates (1-10 Hz), we have constructed a system using sCMOS detection-based DOT, with asymmetric measurements, with many (>10,000) detectors and fewer (<100) structured illumination patterns (using digital micromirror devices: DMDs). The system employs multiple views, involving multiple cameras and illuminators, to provide a three-dimensional field of view. To coregister the measurements with the mouse head anatomy, we developed a surface profiling method in which point illumination patterns are scanned over the mouse head and combined with calibration data to create three-dimensional point clouds and meshes representing the head. We applied this method to a 3D-printed figurine, and the resulting mesh had surface vertices whose positions deviated 0.4 ± 0.2 mm (mean ± SD) from the original "ground truth" mesh that had been employed to 3D-print the figurine. To evaluate the imaging system's resolution, field of view, and sensitivity versus depth, we placed simulated activations at different depths within a tissue model of a real mouse head imaged with our surface profiling method. Results indicate that this imaging system is sensitive to absorption changes at depths of >3 mm. In addition, a partial (one-camera, one-illuminator) version of the system successfully imaged neural activations evoked by forepaw stimulation of a live mouse.
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