Medical Engineering Special Seminar, Dr. Maïmouna Bocoum

Optical imaging of biological tissues is limited by strong light scattering. Using ultrasound—a technique known as acousto-optics—can overcome this and enable deeper imaging. However, when classical light is used, photon noise remains a fundamental limit, as seen even in cutting-edge detectors like those for gravitational waves. In this talk, I will explore how non-classical light can enhance the signal-to-noise ratio in such measurements, offering improvements for both medical imaging and gravitational wave detection. I will conclude with an example of quantum-assisted magnetic sensing in biological samples.

Biography: Dr. Maïmouna Bocoum is a physicist specializing in the propagation of light in complex media. She currently works for the CNRS and is based at the Langevin Institute in Paris. She obtained her PhD in 2016 from École Polytechnique in Paris, where she studied ultrafast plasma physics, before transitioning to the field of medical imaging. From 2021 to 2023, she was a researcher at the Niels Bohr Institute, working on quantum-enhanced gravitational wave detection after receiving a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship and the Seal of Excellence from the European Commission. Dr. Bocoum has led innovations in in-vivo medical imaging using acousto-optics and digital holography and is currently collaborating with the Kastler Brossel Laboratory on quantum-enhanced medical imaging.

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CFopNTsAAAAJ&hl=fr&oi=ao