Optical imaging in biomedicine is governed by the light absorption and scattering interaction on microscopic and macroscopic constituents in the medium. Therefore, light scattering characteristics of human tissue correlate with the stage of some diseases. In the near infrared range the scattering event with the coefficient approximately two orders of magnitude greater than absorption plays a dominant role. When measuring the optical parameters variations were discovered that correlate with the rheumatoid arthritis of a small joint. The potential of an experimental setup for transillumination the finger joint with a laser diode and the pattern of the stray light detection are demonstrated. The scattering caused by skin contains no useful information and it can be removed by a deconvolution technique to enhance the diagnostic value of this non-invasive optical method. Monte Carlo simulations ensure both the construction of the corresponding point spread function and both the theoretical verification of the stray light picture in rather complex geometry.

Date Published: 9 June 2008
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 6791, Saratov Fall Meeting 2007: Optical Technologies in Biophysics and Medicine IX, 67910G (9 June 2008); doi: 10.1117/12.803975

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6791:
Saratov Fall Meeting 2007: Optical Technologies in Biophysics and Medicine IX
Valery V. Tuchin, Editor(s)