Full time-resolved scheme data in time-domain fluorescence diffuse optical tomography

Abstract

In this study, time-domain fluorescence diffuse optical tomography (FDOT) in biological tissue is investigated by solving the inverse problem using a convolution and deconvolution of the zero-lifetime emission light intensity and the exponential function for a finite lifetime, respectively. We firstly formulate the fundamental equations in time-domain assuming that the fluorescence lifetime is equal to zero, and then the solution including the lifetime is obtained by convolving the emission light intensity and the lifetime function. The model is a 2-D 10 mm-radius circle with the optical properties simulating biological tissue for the near infrared light, and contains some regions with fluorophores. Temporal and spatial profiles of excitation and emission light intensities are calculated and discussed for several models. The inverse problem of fluorescence diffuse optical tomography is solved using simulated measurement emission intensities for reconstructing fluorophore concentration. A time-domain measurement system uses ultra-short pulsed laser for excitation and measures the temporal and spatial distributions of fluorescence emitting from the tissue surface. To improve image quality, we propose implementation of a FDOT algorithm using full time-resolved (TR) data.