Issues Related to the Forward Problem for Endoscopic Near-infrared Diffuse Optical Tomography

Abstract

Near-infrared diffuse optical tomography (NIR DOT) imaging technology has been shown to be capable of detecting the presence of certain types of cancer within the body in a non-invasive way. At Oklahoma State University, researchers are attempting to apply the NIR DOT imaging to help doctors define suspicious lesions for targeted prostate tissue biopsy. Available software for NIR DOT imaging have proven to be inaccurate when applied to prostate imaging. A new software package must be developed to create accurate optical images of the prostate. As part of this new software package, this work details the development and validation of a new frequency-domain diffusion approximation finite element model to predict the light fluence throughout the prostate. Using a simplified model of the breast and cancer suspect, the new model is shown to be nearly identical to another software package, NIRFAST, that has been proven to be an accurate NIR DOT breast cancer imaging software package. Applying the new model for a simplified prostate model has indicated a different response from the inaccurate NIRFAST result. A new frequency-domain diffusion approximation finite element model is ready to be tested against laboratory measurements.