Large field-of-view non-invasive imaging through scattering layers using fluctuating random illumination

The authors demonstrate non-invasive fluorescence imaging behind scattering layers beyond the optical memory effect. They achieve this by demixing speckle patterns emitted by a fluorescent object under variable unknown random illumination, using matrix factorization and a fingerprint-based reconstruction. Non-invasive optical imaging techniques are essential diagnostic tools in many fields. Although various recent methods have been proposed to utilize and control light in multiple scattering media, non-invasive optical imaging through and inside scattering layers across a large field of view remains elusive due to the physical limits set by the optical memory effect, especially without wavefront shaping techniques. Here, we demonstrate an approach that enables non-invasive fluorescence imaging behind scattering layers with field-of-views extending well beyond the optical memory effect. The method consists in demixing the speckle patterns emitted by a fluorescent object under variable unknown random illumination, using matrix factorization and a novel fingerprint-based reconstruction. Experimental validation shows the efficiency and robustness of the method with various fluorescent samples, covering a field of view up to three times the optical memory effect range. Our non-invasive imaging technique is simple, neither requires a spatial light modulator nor a guide star, and can be generalized to a wide range of incoherent contrast mechanisms and illumination schemes.

Automated summary

The authors demonstrate a method for non-invasive fluorescence imaging behind scattering layers that extends beyond the optical memory effect. By demixing speckle patterns emitted by a fluorescent object using matrix factorization and fingerprint-based reconstruction, they achieve imaging with a larger field of view. Experimental validation confirms the efficiency and robustness of the method across various fluorescent samples.