A GPU-based Monte Carlo software (MCtet) was developed to calculate the light propagation in arbitrarily shaped objects, like a human tooth, represented by a tetrahedral mesh. A unique feature of MCtet is a concept to realize different kinds of light-sources illuminating the complex-shaped surface of an object, for which no preprocessing step is needed. With this concept, it is also possible to consider photons leaving a turbid media and reentering again in case of a concave object. The correct implementation was shown by comparison with five other Monte Carlo software packages. A hundredfold acceleration compared with central processing units-based programs was found. MCtet can simulate anisotropic light propagation, e.g., by accounting for scattering at cylindrical structures. The important influence of the anisotropic light propagation, caused, e.g., by the tubules in human dentin, is shown for the transmission spectrum through a tooth. It was found that the sensitivity to a change in the oxygen saturation inside the pulp for transmission spectra is much larger if the tubules are considered. Another “light guiding” effect based on a combination of a low scattering and a high refractive index in enamel is described.
The Monte Carlo method is often referred as the gold standard to calculate the light propagation in turbid media. Especially for complex shaped geometries where no analytical solutions are available the Monte Carlo method becomes very important. In this work a Monte Carlo software is presented, to simulate the light propagation in complex shaped geometries. To improve the simulation time the code is based on OpenCL such that graphics cards from most vendors as well as all other computing devices can be used simultaneously. Within the software an illumination concept is presented to realize easily all kinds of light sources, like spatial frequency domain (SFD), optical fibers or Gaussian beam profiles. Moreover different objects, which are not connected to each other, can be considered simultaneously, without any additional preprocessing. A correct implementation of the Software has been proofed by comparison with well-known Monte Carlo packages like the MCML software or the MMC software package. Additionally speed comparison with these software packages are presented to demonstrate the strengths of the newly developed Monte Carlo software. Since the 3D objects are expressed by tetrahedra within the Monte Carlo software it can be used for many applications. The presented Monte Carlo software was utilized to calculate the transmission spectrum of a tooth as a clinical application. The results of the Monte Carlo software were used for the color reconstruction and prediction of different objects as an imaging function.
The Monte Carlo method is often referred as the gold standard to calculate the light propagation in turbid media [1]. Especially for complex shaped geometries where no analytical solutions are available the Monte Carlo method becomes very important [1, 2]. In this work a Monte Carlo software is presented, to simulate the light propagation in complex shaped geometries. To improve the simulation time the code is based on OpenCL such that graphics cards can be used as well as other computing devices. Within the software an illumination concept is presented to realize easily all kinds of light sources, like spatial frequency domain (SFD), optical fibers or Gaussian beam profiles. Moreover different objects, which are not connected to each other, can be considered simultaneously, without any additional preprocessing. This Monte Carlo software can be used for many applications. In this work the transmission spectrum of a tooth and the color reconstruction of a virtual object are shown, using results from the Monte Carlo software.
A method for the depth-sensitive detection of fluorescent light is presented. It relies on a structured illumination restricting the excitation volume and on an interferometric detection of the wave front curvature. The illumination with two intersecting beams of a white-light laser separated in a Sagnac interferometer coupled to the microscope provides a coarse confinement in lateral and axial direction. The depth reconstruction is carried out by evaluating shearing interferograms produced with a Michelson interferometer. This setup can also be used with spatially and temporally incoherent light as emitted by fluorophores.
A simulation workflow of the method was developed using a combination of a solution of Maxwell's equations with the Monte Carlo method. These simulations showed the principal feasibility of the method.
The method is validated by measurements at reference samples with characterized material properties, locations and sizes of fluorescent regions. It is demonstrated that sufficient signal quality can be obtained for materials with scattering properties comparable to dental enamel while maintaining moderate illumination powers in the milliwatt range. The depth reconstruction is demonstrated for a range of distances and penetration depths of several hundred micrometers.
For many research areas in biomedical optics, information about scattering of polarized light in turbid media is of increasing importance. Scattering simulations within this field are mainly performed on the basis of radiative transfer theory. In this study a polarization sensitive Monte Carlo solution of radiative transfer theory is compared to exact Maxwell solutions for all elements of the scattering Müller matrix. Different scatterer volume concentrations are modeled as a multitude of monodisperse nonabsorbing spheres randomly positioned in a cubic simulation volume which is irradiated with monochromatic incident light. For all Müller matrix elements effects due to dependent scattering and multiple scattering are analysed. The results are in overall good agreement between the two methods with deviations related to dependent scattering being prominent for high volume concentrations and high scattering angles.
A Monte Carlo program for simulation of polarized light propagation in scattering media was developed. By comparing
the results of this program (angularly resolved independent Müller matrix elements S11, S21, S34 and S44) with
analytical solutions of Maxwell equations, a testing method for Monte Carlo programs simulating polarized light
propagation was found. A further goal was to quantitatively point out the differences between solutions of radiative
transfer theory and Maxwell theory for polarized light.
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