Fourier diffraction theorem for diffusion-based thermal tomography

There has been much recent interest in thermal imaging as a method of non-destructive testing and for non-invasive medical imaging. The basic idea of applying heat or cold to an area and observing the resulting temperature change with an infrared camera has led to the development of rapid and relatively inexpensive inspection systems. However, the main drawback to date has been that such an approach provides mainly qualitative results. In order to advance the quantitative results that are possible via thermal imaging, there is interest in applying techniques and algorithms from conventional tomography. Many tomography algorithms are based on the Fourier diffraction theorem, which is inapplicable to thermal imaging without suitable modification to account for the attenuative nature of thermal waves. In this paper, the Fourier diffraction theorem for thermal tomography is derived and discussed. The intent is for this thermal-diffusion based Fourier diffraction theorem to form the basis of tomographic reconstruction algorithms for quantitative thermal imaging.