Optical propagation of partially coherent light through anisotropic biological tissues by Green's functions

Abstract

Biomedical optical techniques of treatment, characterization and surgery depend on light propagation in biological tissues. As biological tissues are turbid media it is necessary to adequately analyze its influence on optical propagation parameters, such as coherence. The influence of a scatterers distribution can be analyzed using Green's functions. Green's functions are sets of impulse responses of inverse operators of differential linear operators with homogeneous boundary conditions. Optical random beams, mainly Gaussian-based, are employed to model light propagation in turbid biological tissues by Green's functions. Enhanced contrast by coherence could distinguish malignant from healthy tissues or provide diagnostic interpretation.