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Designing and simulating realistic spatial frequency domain imaging systems using open-source 3D rendering software.
Jane Crowley1, George S D Gordon1
1Optics & Photonics Group, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Biomedical Optics Express
|June 21, 2023
Summary
A new Blender-based simulation tool accurately models spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) for various geometries. This system enhances SFDI system design and performance evaluation for biomedical applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Optics
- Medical Imaging
- Computational Imaging
Background:
- Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (SFDI) is a valuable technique for mapping tissue optical properties, crucial for disease detection like tumors.
- Existing SFDI systems face challenges with diverse imaging geometries, necessitating advanced design and simulation tools.
- Realistic simulation is essential for optimizing SFDI system performance across various applications, from ex vivo samples to in vivo lumen imaging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an open-source simulation system for Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (SFDI) using Blender's 3D modeling and ray-tracing capabilities.
- To enable realistic simulation of SFDI performance across a wide range of imaging geometries and sample types.
- To accelerate the design and evaluation of novel SFDI systems for biomedical applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Blender's Cycles ray-tracing engine to simulate SFDI in various geometries, incorporating realistic optical properties and lighting effects.
- Validated the simulation accuracy against Monte Carlo methods, achieving initial discrepancies of 16% for absorption and 18% for scattering coefficients.
- Implemented empirically derived look-up tables to significantly reduce simulation errors to 1% for absorption and 0.7% for scattering.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated accurate SFDI mapping of absorption, scattering, and shape for simulated tumor spheroids, showing enhanced contrast.
- Successfully simulated SFDI within a tubular lumen, revealing the necessity of custom look-up tables for different longitudinal sections.
- Achieved high accuracy in lumen simulations, with errors as low as 2% for both absorption and scattering coefficients.
Conclusions:
- The developed Blender-based simulation system provides a powerful and versatile tool for designing and evaluating SFDI systems.
- The simulation approach accurately models complex geometries and optical phenomena, improving the reliability of SFDI performance predictions.
- This tool is expected to significantly aid in the development of advanced SFDI technologies for critical biomedical applications.
