Igor V. Reshetov

In vivo terahertz spectroscopy of pigmentary skin nevi: Pilot study of non-invasive early diagnosis of dysplasia

In vivo terahertz (THz) spectroscopy of pigmentary skin nevi is performed. The in vivo THz dielectric characteristics of healthy skin and dysplastic and non-dysplastic skin nevi are reconstructed and analyzed. The dielectric permittivity curves of these samples in the THz range exhibit significant differences that could allow non-invasive early diagnosis of dysplastic nevi, which are melanoma precursors. An approach for differentiating dysplastic and non-dysplastic skin nevi using the THz dielectric permittivity is proposed. The results demonstrate that THz pulsed spectroscopy is potentially an effective tool for non-invasive early diagnosis of dysplastic nevi and melanomas of the skin.

Accuracy of sample material parameters reconstruction using terahertz pulsed spectroscopy

New experimental and theoretical results for the material parameter reconstruction using terahertz (THz) pulsed spectroscopy (TPS) are presented. The material parameter reconstruction algorithm was realized and experimentally implemented to study the test sample. In order to both verify the algorithm and to estimate the reconstruction accuracy, test sample material parameters obtained with the TPS were compared with the results of the same sample studying by the use of the backward-wave oscillator (BWO) spectroscopy. Thus, high reconstruction accuracy was demonstrated for the spectral range, corresponding to the BWO sensitivity and located between 0.2 and 1.2 THz. The numerical simulations were applied for determining the material parameter reconstruction stability in the presence of white Gaussian noise in TPS waveforms as well as fluctuations in the femtosecond (FS) optical pulse duration. We report a strong dependence of the inverse problem solution stability on these factors. We found that the instabi...

Wide-aperture aspherical lens for high-resolution terahertz imaging

In this paper, we introduce wide-aperture aspherical lens for high-resolution terahertz (THz) imaging. The lens has been designed and analyzed by numerical methods of geometrical optics and electrodynamics. It has been made of high-density polyethylene by shaping at computer-controlled lathe and characterized using a continuous-wave THz imaging setup based on a backward-wave oscillator and Golay detector. The concept of image contrast has been implemented to estimate image quality. According to the experimental data, the lens allows resolving two points spaced at 0.95λ distance with a contrast of 15%. To highlight high resolution in the THz images, the wide-aperture lens has been employed for studying printed electronic circuit board containing sub-wavelength-scale elements. The observed results justify the high efficiency of the proposed lens design.

Solid immersion terahertz imaging with sub-wavelength resolution

We have developed a method of solid immersion THz imaging—a non-contact technique employing the THz beam focused into evanescent-field volume and allowing strong reduction in the dimensions of THz caustic. We have combined numerical simulations and experimental studies to demonstrate a sub-wavelength 0.35λ0-resolution of the solid immersion THz imaging system compared to 0.85λ0-resolution of a standard imaging system, employing only an aspherical singlet. We have discussed the prospective of using the developed technique in various branches of THz science and technology, namely, for THz measurements of solid-state materials featuring sub-wavelength variations of physical properties, for highly accurate mapping of healthy and pathological tissues in THz medical diagnosis, for detection of sub-wavelength defects in THz non-destructive sensing, and for enhancement of THz nonlinear effects.

In vivo spectroscopy of healthy skin and pathology in terahertz frequency range

Biomedical applications of terahertz (THz) technology and, in particular, THz pulsed spectroscopy have attracted considerable interest in the scientific community. A lot of papers have been dedicated to studying the ability for human disease diagnosis, including the diagnosis of human skin cancers. In this paper we have studied the THz material parameters and THz dielectric properties of human skin and pathology in vivo, and THz pulsed spectroscopy has been utilized for this purpose. We have found a contrast between material parameters of basal cell carcinoma and healthy skin, and we have also compared the THz material parameters of dysplastic and non-dysplastic pigmentary nevi in order to study the ability for early melanoma diagnosis. Significant differences between the THz material parameters of healthy skin and pathology have been detected, thus, THz pulsed spectroscopy promises to be become an effective tool for non-invasive diagnosis of skin neoplasms.

Monte Carlo simulation of optical coherence tomography signal of the skin nevus

Monte Carlo (MC) numerical simulation of light propagation in living tissue is widely used for characterization of optical coherence tomography (OCT) signals. Using MC simulation we obtained OCT images of skin with dysplastic nevus. Two various positions of skin nevus in depth were considered. Comparing these OCT simulation results with image of skin without nevus, we showed that OCT medical approach allows to detect dysplastic nevus at different stages of its life.

Wavelet-domain de-noising technique for THz pulsed spectroscopy

De-noising of terahertz (THz) pulsed spectroscopy (TPS) data is an essential problem, since a noise in the TPS system data prevents correct reconstruction of the sample spectral dielectric properties and to perform the sample internal structure studying. There are certain regions in TPS signal Fourier spectrum, where Fourier-domain signal-to-noise ratio is relatively small. Effective de-noising might potentially expand the range of spectrometer spectral sensitivity and reduce the time of waveform registration, which is an essential problem for biomedical applications of TPS. In this work, it is shown how the recent progress in signal processing in wavelet-domain could be used for TPS waveforms de-noising. It demonstrates the ability to perform effective de-noising of TPS data using the algorithm of the Fast Wavelet Transform (FWT). The results of the optimal wavelet basis selection and wavelet-domain thresholding technique selection are reported. Developed technique is implemented for reconstruction of in vivo healthy and deseased skin samplesspectral characteristics at THz frequency range.

Numerical simulation of terahertz-wave propagation in photonic crystal waveguide based on sapphire shaped crystal

Terahertz (THz) waveguiding in sapphire shaped single crystal has been studied using the numerical simulations. The numerical finite-difference analysis has been implemented to characterize the dispersion and loss in the photonic crystalline waveguide containing hollow cylindrical channels, which form the hexagonal lattice. Observed results demonstrate the ability to guide the THz-waves in multi-mode regime in wide frequency range with the minimal power extinction coefficient of 0.02 dB/cm at 1.45 THz. This shows the prospectives of the shaped crystals for highly-efficient THz waveguiding.

Wavelet-domain de-noising of optical coherent tomography data for biomedical applications

Optical coherent tomography (OCT) is a rapidly developing method of fundamental and applied research. Detection and processing of OCT images is a very important problem of applied physics and optical signal processing. In the present paper we are demonstrating the ability for effective wavelet-domain de-noising of OCT images. We are realizing an algorithm for wavelet-domain de-noising of OCT data and implementing it for the purpose of studying test samples and for in vivo nail tomography. High de-noising efficiency with no significant losses of information about the internal sample structure is observed.

Wavelet-domain de-noising of OCT images of human brain malignant glioma

We have proposed a wavelet-domain de-noising technique for imaging of human brain malignant glioma by optical coherence tomography (OCT). It implies OCT image decomposition using the direct fast wavelet transform, thresholding of the obtained wavelet spectrum and further inverse fast wavelet transform for image reconstruction. By selecting both wavelet basis and thresholding procedure, we have found an optimal wavelet filter, which application improves differentiation of the considered brain tissue classes – i.e. malignant glioma and normal/intact tissue. Namely, it allows reducing the scattering noise in the OCT images and retaining signal decrement for each tissue class. Therefore, the observed results reveals the wavelet-domain de-noising as a prospective tool for improved characterization of biological tissue using the OCT.