Multispectral truncated-correlation photothermal coherence tomography imaging modality for detection of early stage dental caries.

One of the major oral health conditions worldwide is dental caries. Light-absorption-based thermophotonic diagnostic imaging is well positioned for this challenge thanks to its speed, safety, and high molecular contrast advantages. In this work, a multispectral (MS) truncated-correlation photothermal coherence tomography (TC-PCT) imaging modality is introduced for the detection of bacterial-induced dental caries. MS TC-PCT provided thorough information about optimal lesion contrast and type of dental defects such as caries in teeth. The experimental results were validated using micro-computed tomography (µCT) including quantitative lesion depth profiles at wavelengths in the 675-700 nm range. MS TC-PCT gives rise to hard-tissue biomedical diagnostic applications such as bone and dental imaging.