Performance of a lookup table-based approach for measuring tissue optical properties with diffuse optical...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Medical Diagnostics
• Optical Physics

Background:

• Diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) is crucial for noninvasive disease diagnosis.
• Accurate quantification of tissue optical parameters is essential for DOS.
• The model used to estimate light-tissue interaction significantly impacts DOS accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of a lookup table (LUT)-based inverse model for measuring tissue optical properties.
• To assess the LUT model's performance under various biological tissue conditions.
• To demonstrate a rapid fabrication method for the LUT.

Main Methods:

• Developed a lookup table (LUT) using experimentally acquired reflectance values from calibration standards.
• Tested the LUT-based inverse model in tissue phantoms with varying absorbers, scatterer sizes, and hemoglobin oxygen saturation.
• Validated the LUT model across a range of source-detector separations (0.25–1.48 mm).

Main Results:

• The LUT-based model accurately extracted scattering and absorption properties with errors typically below 5%.
• The model demonstrated validity across specified source-detector separations.
• An optimized LUT fabricated using six calibration standards achieved average RMS errors of 2.5% for scattering and 4% for absorption.

Conclusions:

• The LUT-based inverse model is a highly accurate and efficient method for quantifying tissue optical properties.
• This approach enhances the reliability of diffuse optical spectroscopy for noninvasive disease diagnosis.
• Rapid LUT fabrication offers a practical advantage for clinical applications.