Single-scattering optical tomography: simultaneous reconstruction of scattering and absorption

Area of Science:

• Optical physics
• Medical imaging
• Computational modeling

Background:

• Mesoscopic systems pose challenges for imaging optical properties due to light scattering.
• Accurate reconstruction of scattering and absorption coefficients is crucial for understanding material properties and for applications in diffuse optical tomography.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the feasibility of simultaneously reconstructing 3D scattering and absorption coefficients of mesoscopic systems.
• To develop an image reconstruction method based on angularly resolved scattered light measurements.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a generalized (broken ray) Radon transform for image reconstruction.
• Employing numerical simulations based on the radiative transport equation (RTE), accounting for all scattering orders.
• Using angularly resolved intensity measurements of scattered light.

Main Results:

• Successfully reconstructed 3D scattering and absorption coefficients for mesoscopic systems.
• Demonstrated method feasibility for samples with optical depths up to 3.2.
• Reconstruction accuracy was validated using RTE solutions that included multiply scattered light.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method enables simultaneous reconstruction of scattering and absorption coefficients in mesoscopic systems.
• The technique is robust and does not require separation of singly scattered photons.
• This advancement offers a promising approach for non-invasive imaging of optically complex media.