Seeing deeper without losing detail

Monday, May 18, 2026 • Brian Lopez : Contact

For decades, doctors and researchers have faced a persistent challenge in medical imaging: seeing deep into the body often means sacrificing fine detail, while sharper images typically can’t reach as far beneath the surface.

Baohong Yuan, professor of bioengineering at The University of Texas at Arlington, is working to address this challenge through a National Institutes of Health grant.

Yuan's research focuses on super-resolution tomographic imaging in centimeter-deep tissue—a technology aimed at enabling clear, detailed imaging of biological structures far beneath the skin's surface.

"At its core, our work is about seeing deeper into the body while still being able to see clearly," Yuan said. "Our goal is to overcome that limitation and enable high-resolution imaging in intact, centimeter-deep tissue."

Today's imaging tools—MRI, CT scans, ultrasound—are highly effective, but each has a ceiling. MRI and CT scans can image the entire body but may struggle to resolve very fine structural details. Ultrasound offers real-time imaging but lacks microscopic-level sharpness. Standard optical imaging, like the kind used under a microscope, can capture fine detail but only works a few millimeters below the skin before the image degrades.

Yuan's technology pushes that boundary further, enabling optical imaging to reach centimeter-level depths without losing the sharpness that makes images useful.

The implications for patients could be significant. Cancer is one of the primary areas of potential impact, particularly for improving the detection of small or irregular tumors. Vascular diseases and other conditions in which subtle changes deep within tissue can go undetected may also benefit.

Yuan is quick to emphasize that the goal is not to replace tools doctors currently use, but to complement them.

"Each imaging modality offers a different perspective," Yuan said. "Our approach adds a new layer of high-resolution information at depth, which could enhance diagnosis and, in some cases, potentially reduce the need for certain invasive procedures such as biopsies."

In the future, the technology could be used in a range of settings, from research labs studying how diseases develop, to hospitals where doctors need a clearer picture before making decisions, to operating rooms where surgeons could use it to guide procedures in real time.

The team is still in the research and preclinical phase, but Yuan is optimistic about where the work is headed.

"This work is about enabling us to see disease earlier, deeper, and more clearly than before—without increasing invasiveness," Yuan said. "Advances in imaging are not just about better pictures—they are about enabling better decisions, more personalized care, and improved outcomes for patients."

For Yuan, the goal is straightforward: helping people get better answers sooner, with less discomfort.