J. P. Culver

Three dimensional Monte Carlo code for photon migration through complex heterogeneous media including the adult human head

We describe a novel Monte Carlo code for photon migration through 3D media with spatially varying optical properties. The code is validated against analytic solutions of the photon diffusion equation for semi-infinite homogeneous media. The code is also cross-validated for photon migration through a slab with an absorbing heterogeneity. A demonstration of the utility of the code is provided by showing time-resolved photon migration through a human head. This code, known as tMCimg, is available on the web and can serve as a resource for solving the forward problem for complex 3D structural data obtained by MRI or CT.

Three-dimensional diffuse optical tomography in the parallel plane transmission geometry: evaluation of a hybrid frequency domain/continuous wave clinical system for breast imaging.

Three-dimensional diffuse optical tomography (DOT) of breast requires large data sets for even modest resolution (1 cm). We present a hybrid DOT system that combines a limited number of frequency domain (FD) measurements with a large set of continuous wave (cw) measurements. The FD measurements are used to quantitatively determine tissue averaged absorption and scattering coefficients. The larger cw data sets (10(5) measurements) collected with a lens coupled CCD, permit 3D DOT reconstructions of a 1-liter tissue volume. To address the computational complexity of large data sets and 3D volumes we employ finite difference based reconstructions computed in parallel. Tissue phantom measurements evaluate imaging performance. The tests include the following: point spread function measures of resolution, characterization of the size and contrast of single objects, field of view measurements and spectral characterization of constituent concentrations. We also report in vivo measurements. Average tissue optical properties of a healthy breast are used to deduce oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations. Differential imaging with a tumor simulating target adhered to the surface of a healthy breast evaluates the influence of physiologic fluctuations on image noise. This tomography system provides robust, quantitative, full 3D image reconstructions with the advantages of high data throughput, single detector-tissue coupling path, and large (1L) imaging domains. In addition, we find that point spread function measurements provide a useful and comprehensive representation of system performance.

Bulk optical properties of healthy female breast tissue

We have measured the bulk optical properties of healthy female breast tissues in vivo in the parallel plate, transmission geometry. Fifty-two volunteers were measured. Blood volume and blood oxygen saturation were derived from the optical property data using a novel method that employed a priori spectral information to overcome limitations associated with simple homogeneous tissue models. The measurements provide an estimate of the variation of normal breast tissue optical properties in a fairly large population. The mean blood volume was 34 +/- 9 microM and the mean blood oxygen saturation was 68 +/- 8%. We also investigated the correlation of these optical properties with demographic factors such as body mass index (BMI) and age. We observed a weak correlation of blood volume and reduced scattering coefficient with BMI: correlation with age, however, was not evident within the statistical error of these experiments. The new information on healthy breast tissue provides insight about the potential contrasts available for diffuse optical tomography of breast tumours.

Can the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen be estimated with near-infrared spectroscopy?

We have measured the changes in oxy-haemoglobin and deoxy-haemoglobin in the adult human brain during a brief finger tapping exercise using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) can be estimated from these NIRS data provided certain model assumptions. The change in CMRO2 is related to changes in the total haemoglobin concentration, deoxy-haemoglobin concentration and blood flow. As NIRS does not provide a measure of dynamic changes in blood flow during brain activation, we relied on a Windkessel model that relates dynamic blood volume and flow changes, which has been used previously for estimating CMRO2 from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Because of the partial volume effect we are unable to quantify the absolute changes in the local brain haemoglobin concentrations with NIRS and thus are unable to obtain an estimate of the absolute CMRO2 change. An absolute estimate is also confounded by uncertainty in the flow-volume relationship. However, the ratio of the flow change to the CMRO2 change is relatively insensitive to these uncertainties. For the linger tapping task, we estimate a most probable flow-consumption ratio ranging from 1.5 to 3 in agreement with previous findings presented in the literature, although we cannot exclude the possibility that there is no CMRO2 change. The large range in the ratio arises from the large number of model parameters that must be estimated from the data. A more precise estimate of the flow-consumption ratio will require better estimates of the model parameters or flow information, as can be provided by combining NIRS with fMRI.

Optimization of optode arrangements for diffuse optical tomography: A singular-value analysis

We develope a method to optimize the resolution of diffuse optical tomographic instruments. Singular-value analysis of the tomographic weight matrix associated with specific data types, geometries, and optode arrangements is shown to provide a measure of image resolution. We achieve optimization of device configuration by monitoring the resolution measure described. We introduce this idea and demonstrate its utility by optimizing the spatial sampling interval and field-of-view parameters in the parallel-plane transmission geometry employed for diffuse optical breast imaging. We also compare resolution in transmission and remission geometries.

Vibrational and rotational relaxation times of solvated molecular ions

Infrared pump–probe and infrared polarization spectroscopy have been used to measure the vibrational relaxation times (T1) of the antisymmetric stretching mode and the reorientation times (TR) for N3−, NCS−, and NCO− in D2O and/or methanol. For N3−, experiments were also conducted in H2O and hexamethyl–phosphamide (HPMA) solutions. The rapid vibrational relaxation and slow reorientation observed demonstrate strong coupling between the ions and the solvents. Longer vibrational relaxation and shorter reorientation times measured for NCS− reveal weaker solvent interactions that may be due to the importance of the charge distribution and the form of the normal coordinate. A comparison of the T1 and TR times in different solvents permits a determination of the relative interaction strengths for the solvents investigated. The relatively weaker coupling of N3− in the aprotic solvent HMPA demonstrates the importance of hydrogen bonding in strong solvent interactions in ionic solutions. The experimental results ar...

Projection access order in algebraic reconstruction technique for diffuse optical tomography.

Algebraic reconstruction technique (ART) is one of the popular image reconstruction techniques used in diffuse optical tomography (DOT). We investigate in this note the influence of the order in which data are accessed in ART. Simulations mimicking breast tissues in transmission geometry with contrast agent tumour enhancement were used to evaluate the image quality of the diverse projection access investigated. We show that by selecting proper projection access order, the convergence speed can be significantly improved when ART is used to perform DOT. Moreover, low-contrast detection is improved.

Femtosecond coherent transient infrared spectroscopy of CO on Cu(111)

Femtosecond infrared coherent transients have been measured for the stretch vibration of CO on Cu(111). The free induction decay exhibits a dephasing time (T2) of 2±0.3 ps (and 2±0.1 ps assuming a single exponential decay between 2 and 3 ps). The decay was best fit by exponential relaxation, thereby suggesting that the CO vibrational band is almost entirely homogeneously broadened. The surface sum frequency spectrum was also measured at two coverages (0.10 and 0.45 L) using spectrally narrowed pulses. Interferences were observed leading to a determination of the relative phase and amplitude of the resonant and nonresonant second‐order susceptibility in this system. The magnitude of the nonresonant susceptibility was only weakly dependent on coverage, suggesting that the nonresonant polarizability originates in the bulk Cu. Time and frequency domain results were in good agreement.

Recovery of optical parameters in multiple-layered diffusive media: theory and experiments

Diffuse photon density waves have lately been used both to characterize diffusive media and to locate and characterize hidden objects, such as tumors, in soft tissue. In practice, most biological media of medical interest consist of various layers with different optical properties, such as the fat layer in the breast or the different layers present in the skin. Also, most experimental setups consist of a multilayered system, where the medium to be characterized (i.e., the patients organ) is usually bounded by optically diffusive plates. Incorrect modeling of interfaces may induce errors comparable to the weak signals obtained from tumors embedded deep in highly heterogeneous tissue and lead to significant reconstruction artifacts. To provide a means to analyze the data acquired in these configurations, the basic expressions for the reflection and transmission coefficients for diffusive-diffusive and diffusive-nondiffusive interfaces are presented. A comparison is made between a diffusive slab and an ordinary dielectric slab, thus establishing the limiting distance between the two interfaces of the slab for multiple reflections between them to be considered important. A rigorous formulation for multiple-layered (M-layered) diffusive media is put forward, and a method for solving any M-layered medium is shown. The theory presented is used to characterize a two-layered medium from transmission measurements, showing that the coefficients of scattering, mu(s) , and absorption, mu(a) , are retrieved with great accuracy. Finally, we demonstrate the simultaneous retrieval of both mu;(s) and mu(a).

Vibrational response of surface adsorbates to femtosecond substrate heating

Abstract The transient response of the internal stretch vibration of CO molecularly adsorbed on Cu(111) has been measured following the impulsive (300 fs) excitation of electrons in the underlying metal substrate by a visible light pulse. It is proposed that the stretch vibration couples indirectly to substrate phonon and electron reservoirs via the frustrated translational surface mode. The couplings to the bulk electron reservoir with a rate γ e = 167(24) GHz, and to the bulk phonon reservoir with a rate γ L = 145(56) GHz were measured. The experiments represent an important step towards surface control of specific states of molecular adsor- bates near their desorption threshold