Temporal analysis of reflected optical signals for short pulse laser
interaction with nonhomogeneous tissue phantoms
(2005)Abstract
The use of short pulse laser for minimally invasive detection scheme
has become an indispensable tool in the technological arsenal of
modern medicine and biomedical engineering. In this work, a time-resolved
technique has been used to detect tumors/inhomogeneities in tissues
by measuring transmitted and reflected scattered temporal optical
signals when a short pulse laser source is incident on tissue phantoms.
A parametric study involving different scattering and absorption
coefficients of tissue phantoms and inhomogeneities, size of inhomogeneity
as well as the detector position is performed. The experimental measurements
are validated with a numerical solution of the transient radiative
transport equation obtained by using discrete ordinates method. Thus,
both simultaneous experimental and numerical studies are critical
for predicting the optical properties of tissues and inhomogeneities
from temporal scattered optical signal measurements.