title: Enhanced detection of early photons in time-domain optical imaging by running in the "dead-time" regime.
abstract: Optical tomography can yield anatomical and molecular information about biological tissue. However, its spatial resolution is poor in thick samples owing to high scatter. Early photon approaches, where photon arrival times are measured with time-resolved detectors, provide one means of improving spatial resolution through selection of photons that travel a straighter path. Here, a novel approach to significantly enhance detection of early photons in time-correlated single photon counting with avalanche photodiodes has been discussed. Results suggest that the early photon detection rate can be increased by about 10 orders of magnitude by running the detector in a dead-time regime.
authors.forename: Lagnojita
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: Jovan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Brankov
authors.forename: Kenneth M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Tichauer