Time-gated transillumination of biological tissues and tissuelike phantoms.

The applicability and limits of time-resolved transillumination to determine the internal details of biological tissues are investigated by phantom experiments. By means of line scans across a sharp edge, the spatial resolution (Δx) and its dependence on the time-gate width (Δt) can be determined. Additionally, measurements of completely absorbing bead pairs embedded in a turbid medium demonstrate the physical resolution in a more realistic case. The benefit of time resolution is especially high for a turbid medium with a comparatively small reduced scattering coefficient of approximately µ(s)' = 0.12 mm(-1). Investigations with partially absorbing beads and filled plastic tubes demonstrate the high sensitivity of time-resolving techniques with respect to spatial variations in scattering or absorption coefficients that are due to the embedded disturber. In particular, it is shown that time gating is sensitive to variations in scattering coefficients.

[1]  R A Kruger,et al.  Time resolved imaging through a highly scattering medium. , 1991, Applied optics.

[2]  Joseph R. Lakowicz,et al.  Frequency-domain measurements of photon migration in tissues , 1990 .

[3]  J C Hebden,et al.  Time-resolved imaging of opaque and transparent spheres embedded in a highly scattering medium. , 1993, Applied optics.

[4]  S Nioka,et al.  Comparison of time-resolved and -unresolved measurements of deoxyhemoglobin in brain. , 1988, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[5]  O Jarlman,et al.  Medical transillumination imaging using short-pulse diode lasers. , 1993, Applied optics.

[6]  Fabrizio Martelli,et al.  Optical properties of biological tissues , 1995, Photonics West.

[7]  Enrico Gratton,et al.  Frequency-domain imaging of thick tissues using a CCD , 1992, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[8]  Jay R. Knutson,et al.  Improvement of spatial resolution in reflectance near-infrared imaging by laser-beam interference , 1992, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[9]  S Nioka,et al.  Time-resolved spectroscopy of hemoglobin and myoglobin in resting and ischemic muscle. , 1988, Analytical biochemistry.

[10]  R A Kruger,et al.  Transillumination imaging performance: a time-of-flight imaging system. , 1990, Medical physics.

[11]  A. Welch,et al.  A review of the optical properties of biological tissues , 1990 .

[12]  S. Arridge,et al.  Estimation of optical pathlength through tissue from direct time of flight measurement , 1988 .

[13]  M S Patterson,et al.  Optical properties of normal and diseased human breast tissues in the visible and near infrared. , 1990, Physics in medicine and biology.

[14]  Oliver Schuetz,et al.  Monte Carlo modeling of time-resolved near-infrared transillumination of human breast tissue , 1994, Other Conferences.

[15]  H Key,et al.  Optical attenuation characteristics of breast tissues at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. , 1991, Physics in medicine and biology.

[16]  Horst Pulvermacher,et al.  Optical transfer function and resolution of transillumination processes calculated by Monte Carlo simulations and diffusion theory , 1994, Other Conferences.

[17]  I. Andersson,et al.  Relation between lightscanning and the histologic and mammographic appearance of malignant breast tumors. , 1992, Acta radiologica.

[18]  J C Hebden,et al.  Time-resolved optical tomography. , 1993, Applied optics.

[19]  S Andersson-Engels,et al.  Effects of optical constants on time-gated transillumination of tissue and tissue-like media. , 1992, Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. B, Biology.

[20]  Enrico Gratton,et al.  Diffraction of intensity-modulated light in strongly scattering media in the presence of a "semi-infinite" absorbing or reflecting plane bounded by a straight edge , 1992, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[21]  Gerhard Mitic,et al.  Time-resolved transillumination of turbid media , 1994, Other Conferences.

[22]  S. Svanberg,et al.  Time-resolved transillumination for medical diagnostics. , 1990, Optics letters.

[23]  Steven L. Jacques Principles of phase-resolved optical measurements , 1991, MedTech.

[24]  Stefan Andersson-Engels,et al.  Time-resolved transillumination for medical diagnostics , 1991, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[25]  Diagnostic accuracy of lightscanning and mammography in women with dense breasts. , 1992, Acta radiologica.

[26]  G. Mitic,et al.  Zeitaufgelöste Transillumination von trüben Medien , 1994 .

[27]  B. Wilson,et al.  Time resolved reflectance and transmittance for the non-invasive measurement of tissue optical properties. , 1989, Applied optics.

[28]  Jeremy C. Hebden,et al.  Line scan acquisition for time-resolved imaging through scattering media , 1993 .

[29]  Stefan Andersson-Engels,et al.  Tumor detection using time-resolved light transillumination , 1991, MedTech.

[30]  J C Hebden,et al.  Evaluating the spatial resolution performance of a time-resolved optical imaging system. , 1992, Medical physics.