Abstract
In the context of cutaneous carcinoma diagnosis based on in vivo optical biopsy, Diffuse Reflectance (DR) spectra, acquired using a Spatially Resolved (SR) sensor configuration, can be analyzed to distinguish healthy from pathological tissues. The present contribution aims at studying the depth distribution of SR-DR-detected photons in skin from the perspective of analyzing how these photons contribute to acquired spectra carrying local physiological and morphological information. Simulations based on modified Cuda Monte Carlo Modeling of Light transport were performed on a five-layer human skin optical model with epidermal thickness, phototype and dermal blood content as variable parameters using (i) wavelength-resolved scattering and absorption properties and (ii) the geometrical configuration of a multi-optical fiber probe implemented on an SR-DR spectroscopic device currently used in clinics. Through histograms of the maximum probed depth and their exploitation, we provide numerical evidence linking the characteristic penetration depth of the detected photons to their wavelengths and four source–sensor distances, which made it possible to propose a decomposition of the DR signals related to skin layer contributions.
Highlights
Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) applied to biological tissues is a widely studied [1,2,3,4], non-destructive optical characterization technique
The geometrical and optical features of source and detection fibers implemented in our Spatially Resolved (SR)-DRS simulations were based on the technical characteristics of an existing device developed by our team [37], whose purpose is to assist a surgeon in establishing surgical margins during skin carcinoma resection [38]
In order to more quantitatively determine the content of the global DR signal in terms of layer contributions, we propose to exploit the results of analysis of the aforementioned developed maximum probed depth histograms and spectra to decompose the total signal
Summary
Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) applied to biological tissues is a widely studied [1,2,3,4], non-destructive optical characterization technique. It consists of measuring back-reflected intensity spectra carrying information from light–tissue interactions, from which the optical and structural properties of the probed medium can be extracted and analyzed. An analysis of the amplitude and shape features of the latter intensity spectrum gives access to information of interest such as absorption bands and elastic scattering properties related to tissue-specific chromophores and structures. Its non-invasive nature, its sensitivity to metabolic and structural changes in tissues and its clinical applicability are very well suited to in vivo biomedical diagnostics.
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