Abstract
We describe a novel Monte Carlo code for photon migration through 3D media with spatially varying optical properties. The code is validated against analytic solutions of the photon diffusion equation for semi-infinite homogeneous media. The code is also cross-validated for photon migration through a slab with an absorbing heterogeneity. A demonstration of the utility of the code is provided by showing time-resolved photon migration through a human head. This code, known as 'tMCimg', is available on the web and can serve as a resource for solving the forward problem for complex 3D structural data obtained by MRI or CT.
Highlights
Imaging tissue with diffuse light produces images with poor structural details, but the images contain exquisite functional information that complements the information obtained by other imaging modalities such as MRI, X-Ray CT, and PET [1]
Because of limited spatial resolution, diffuse optical tomography is increasingly being used in combination with imaging methods that provide high-resolution structural information, such as MRI, CT, X-Ray, and ultrasound [2,3,4]
This progress has motivated the extension of photon migration techniques to tissue imaging applications using diffuse optical tomography (DOT) methods
Summary
Imaging tissue with diffuse light (i.e. diffuse optical tomography) produces images with poor structural details (for instance non-invasive measurements of the human cortex have a resolution typically no better than 5-10 mm), but the images contain exquisite functional information that complements the information obtained by other imaging modalities such as MRI, X-Ray CT, and PET [1]. We present a computer code for accurate forward solutions of complex 3D media and demonstrate its utility using a 3D MRI segmentation of the human head as the structure for photon migration. During the last 15 years, the modeling of photon migration within tissue has allowed for the quantitative determination of tissue hemoglobin oxygen saturation for basic physiological research and clinical applications [1, 5, 6] This progress has motivated the extension of photon migration techniques to tissue imaging applications using diffuse optical tomography (DOT) methods. Improving the accuracy of diffuse optical tomography of complex tissue structures depends on the development of more sophisticated methods for solving the forward photon migration problem. The ability to perform such simulations in a medium with arbitrary boundaries and spatial variation in the optical properties, in our publicly available code ‘tMCimg’ [28], is a significant advancement over the capabilities of the widely used and publicly available code known as ‘MCML’ developed by Wang and Jacques [29] which models photon propagation through layered media with planar boundaries
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