Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame
Fast-Changing Times: Advanced Optical Technologies Enabling the Next Generation of Quantitative Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy
Abstract
Quantitative Noninvasive Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy utilizing time-dependent methods can separate the effects of optical absorption and scattering and thus provide greater accuracy, precision, and 3D resolution of deep tissue physiology compared to continuous-wave methods. Unfortunately, despite 30 years of research demonstrating its utility in a myriad of clinical applications (e.g. cancer, neuroscience, critical care, metabolic disease, etc.), time-dependent methods are complex, bulky, and expensive. This has resulted, at best, in slowed clinical adoption and, at worst, distrust of the technology itself. In order to overcome these barriers, our group researches new optical components and techniques for diffuse optical spectroscopy that are leading to a new generation of handheld, wearable, and even implantable systems. This will facilitate the conversion of advanced time-dependent imaging methods to accessible compact systems that will drive widespread use in biomedical sensing and imaging.
Biography
Dr. Thomas O’Sullivan has been an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame since 2016. Prior to that he was Director of the Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy and Imaging Laboratory at the Beckman Laser Institute of the University of California, Irvine and a U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program Postdoctoral Fellow. He received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2005 and the M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 2007 and 2011, respectively. Dr. O’Sullivan is engaged in translational biomedical research based upon the development and application of deep tissue optical imaging and sensing. In addition to his research, Dr. O’Sullivan is passionate about community outreach, has served the optics and photonics community through multiple volunteer roles for OSA and SPIE, and is currently an associate editor for Biomedical Optics Express.
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