Work

Investigation of a probe design for facilitating the uses of the standard photon diffusion equation at short source-detector separations: Monte Carlo simulations

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: We design a special diffusing probe to investigate the optical properties of human skin in vivo. The special geometry of the probe enables a modified two-layer (MTL) diffusion model to precisely describe the photon transport even when the source-detector separation is shorter than 3 mean free paths. We provide a frequency domain comparison between the Monte Carlo model and the diffusion model in both the MTL geometry and conventional semiinfinite geometry. We show that using the Monte Carlo model as a benchmark method, the MTL diffusion theory performs better than the diffusion theory in the semiinfinite geometry. In addition, we carry out Monte Carlo simulations with the goal of investigating the dependence of the interrogation depth of this probe on several parameters including source-detector separation, sample optical properties, and properties of the diffusing high-scattering layer. From the simulations, we find that the optical properties of samples modulate the interrogation volume greatly, and the source-detector separation and the thickness of the diffusing layer are the two dominant probe parameters that impact the interrogation volume. Our simulation results provide design guidelines for a MTL geometry probe.

Source: Journal of Biomedical Optics

DOI: 10.1117/1.3253386

Authors: Sheng-Hao Tseng, Carole Hayakawa, Jerome Spanier, Anthony J. Durkin

Institution: Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic

Language: English

Topic: Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Council, National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources

Awards: G2326367487, G277118886, G9000121164, G9000199918