• Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences
  • Vol. 13, Issue 1, 1930013 (2020)
Sergio Fantini1、2、*, Giles Blaney1、2, and Angelo Sassaroli2
Author Affiliations
  • 1Angelo Sassaroli
  • 2Department of Biomedical Engineering Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155, USA
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    DOI: 10.1142/s1793545819300131 Cite this Article
    Sergio Fantini, Giles Blaney, Angelo Sassaroli. Transformational change in the field of diffuse optics: From going bananas to going nuts[J]. Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, 2020, 13(1): 1930013 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    The concept of region of sensitivity is central to the field of diffuse optics and is closely related to the Jacobian matrix used to solve the inverse problem in imaging. It is well known that, in diffuse reflectance, the region of sensitivity associated with a given source–detector pair is shaped as a banana, and features maximal sensitivity to the portions of the sample that are closest to the source and the detector. We have recently introduced a dual-slope (DS) method based on a special arrangement of two sources and two detectors, which results in deeper and more localized regions of sensitivity, resembling the shapes of different kinds of nuts. Here, we report the regions of sensitivity associated with a variety of source–detector arrangements for DS measurements of intensity and phase with frequency-domain spectroscopy (modulation frequency: 140MHz) in a medium with absorption and reduced scattering coe±cients of 0.1 and 12 cm-1, respectively. The main result is that the depth of maximum sensitivity, considering only cases that use sourcedetector separations of 25 and 35 mm, progressively increases as we consider single-distance intensity (2.0 mm), DS intensity (4.6 mm), single-distance phase (7.5 mm), and DS phase (10.9 mm). These results indicate the importance of DS measurements, and even more so of phase measurements, when it is desirable to selectively probe deeper portions of a sample with diffuse optics. This is certainly the case in non-invasive optical studies of brain, muscle, and breast tissue, which are located underneath the superficial tissue at variable depths.
    Sergio Fantini, Giles Blaney, Angelo Sassaroli. Transformational change in the field of diffuse optics: From going bananas to going nuts[J]. Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, 2020, 13(1): 1930013
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