A Portable 3×3 Mueller Matrix Polarimeter Prototype for Cancer Detection Ex Vivo

In this paper, a new structure of polarimeter is designed to measure the 3×3 Mueller matrix of ex-vivo human tissues by integrating the polarization state generator (PSG) and the polarization state analyzer (PSA) together in a metal base. The rotation of linear polarizers was implemented precisely and rapidly by two DC servo motors, and controlled along with the snapshots of the polarimetric images by a software program running on a mobile work station. Hence, the whole system is portable and the total acquisition time for a Mueller matrix was controlled within 5 seconds. Furthermore, the Z pulse output of the encoder was utilized to search the horizontal axis of linear polarizers, which was taken as an automatic calibration tool after the system being moved out of the laboratory for measurement. Finally, a prototype was implemented and validated with a linear polarizer and chicken heart cross-section. This prototype was then moved to Shenzhen Second People's Hospital for the measurement of unstained human tissue samples that were treated only with fixatives. The comparison between the pathological results and the Mueller matrix parameters showed the potential application of our system in cancer detection.

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