CONVENTIONAL IMAGING TECHNIQUES OFTEN STRUGGLE TO CAPTURE THE INTRICATE DETAILS OF THIS DELICATE STRUCTURE, NECESSITATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE ADVANCED IMAGING APPROACHES.
F E A T U R E penetration while preserving structural clarity,” explained Serita.
CONVENTIONAL IMAGING TECHNIQUES OFTEN STRUGGLE TO CAPTURE THE INTRICATE DETAILS OF THIS DELICATE STRUCTURE, NECESSITATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE ADVANCED IMAGING APPROACHES.
researchers led by Associate Professor Kazunori Serita from Waseda University, along with Professors Takeshi Fujita and Akinobu Kakigi from Kobe University and Professor Masayoshi Tonouchi and Luwei Zheng from Osaka University, used a micrometre-sized THz point source to visualise the internal structure of the mouse cochlea. The study, published in Optica on 27 March 2025, explores THz imaging as a non-invasive, high-resolution technique for biological tissue analysis.“ By leveraging THz waves, we can achieve deeper tissue
To achieve high-resolution THz imaging, a micrometre-sized THz point source was generated using a femtosecond laser at a wavelength of 1.5 μm, which irradiated a GaAs substrate. The cochlea was placed directly on the substrate to facilitate near-field imaging. The system captured 2D THz time-domain images over a broad timescale, allowing structural visualisation at varying depths. By applying the time-of-flight principle, the timescale of each THz image was converted into a depth scale. Furthermore, k-means clustering, an unsupervised machine-learning technique, was used to extract structural features and enable 3D reconstruction of the cochlea, resulting in a 3D point cloud and surface mesh model.
The study successfully demonstrated the first THz imaging of the internal structure of the mouse cochlea. The imaging technique provided clear structural information at varying depths, enabling the visualisation of intricate cochlear features. The 3D reconstruction process yielded high-quality spatial representations of the cochlea, enhancing the understanding of its internal architecture. These results highlight the potential of THz imaging as a viable
34 www. intelligenthealth. tech