Biomedical applications of Jones-matrix tomography to polycrystalline films of biological fluids

Algorithms for reconstruction of linear and circular birefringence-dichroism of optically thin anisotropic biological layers are presented. The technique of Jones-matrix tomography of polycrystalline films of biological fluids of various human organs has been developed and experimentally tested. The coordinate distributions of phase and amplitude anisotropy of bile films and synovial fluid taken from the knee joint are determined and statistically analyzed. Criteria (statistical moments of 3rd and 4th orders) of differential diagnostics of early stages of cholelithiasis and septic arthritis of the knee joint with excellent balanced accuracy were determined. Data on the diagnostic efficiency of the Jones-matrix tomography method for polycrystalline plasma (liver disease), urine (albuminuria) and cytological smears (cervical cancer) are presented

Complementary analysis of Mueller-matrix images of optically anisotropic highly scattering biological tissues

Background: Using optical techniques for tissue diagnostics (so-called ‘optical biopsy’) has been a subject of extensive research for many years. Various groups have been exploring different spectral and/or imaging modalities (e.g. diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, autofluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, optical coherence tomography (OCT), polarized light microscopy, etc.) for biomedical applications. In this paper, we report on using multi-wavelength imaging Mueller polarimetry combined with an appropriated image post-processing for the detection of tissue malignancy. Methods: We investigate a possibility of complementary analysis of Mueller matrix images obtained for turbid tissue-like scattering phantoms and excised human normal and cancerous colorectal tissue samples embedded in paraffin. Combined application of correlation, fractal and statistical analysis was employed to assess quantitatively the polarization-inhomogeneous scattered fields observed at the surface of tissue samples. Results: The combined analysis of the polarimetric images of paraffin-embedded tissue blocks has proved to be an efficient tool for the unambiguous detection of tissue malignant transformation. A fractal structure was clearly observed at spatial distributions of depolarization of light scattered in healthy tissues in a visible range of spectrum, while corresponding distributions for cancerous tissues did not show such dependence. We demonstrate that paraffin does not destroy a fractal structure of spatial distribution of depolarization. Thus, the loss of fractality in spatial distributions of depolarization for cancerous tissue is related to the structural changes in the tissue sample induced by cancer itself and, therefore, may serve as a marker of the disease. Conclusion: The obtained results emphasize that a combined use of statistical, correlation and fractal analysis for the Mueller-matrix image post-processing is an effective approach for an assessment of variations of optical properties in turbid tissue-like scattering media and biological tissues, with a high potential to be transferred to clinical practice for screening cancerous tissue samples

3D Mueller Matrix Reconstruction of the Optical Anisotropy Parameters of Myocardial Histopathology Tissue Samples

Diseases affecting myocardial tissues are currently a leading cause of death in developed nations. Fast and reliable techniques for analysing and understanding how tissues are affected by disease and respond to treatment are fundamental to combating the effects of heart disease. A 3D Mueller matrix method that reconstructs the linear and circular birefringence and dichroism parameters has been developed to image the biological structures in myocardial tissues. The required optical data is gathered using a Stokes polarimeter and then processed mathematically to recover the individual optical anisotropy parameters, expanding on existing 2D Mueller matrix implementations by combining with a digital holography approach. Changes in the different optical anisotropy parameters are rationalised with reference to the general tissue structure, such that the structures can be identified from the anisotropy distributions. The first to fourth order statistical moments characterising the distribution of the parameters of the optical anisotropy of the polycrystalline structure of the partially depolarising layer of tissues in different phase sections of their volumes are investigated and analysed. The third and fourth order statistical moments are found to be the most sensitive to changes in the phase and amplitude anisotropy. The possibility of forensic medical differentiation of death in cases of acute coronary insufficiency (ACI) and coronary heart disease (CHD) is considered as a diagnostic application. The optimal phase plane ( θ ∗ = 0.7 r a d ) has been found, in which excellent differentiation accuracy is achieved ACI and CHD - A c ( Δ Z 4 ( θ ∗ , Φ L , Δ L ) ) = 93.05 % ÷ 95.8 % . A comparative analysis of the accuracy of the Mueller-matrix reconstruction of the parameters of the optical anisotropy of the myocardium in different phase planes ( θ = 0.9 r a d and θ = 1.2 r a d ), as well as the 2D Mueller-matrix reconstruction method was carried out. This work demonstrates that a 3D Mueller matrix method can be used to effectively analyse the optical anisotropy parameters of myocardial tissues with potential for definitive diagnostics in forensic medicine

Diffuse tomography of optical anisotropy of tumors and necrotic conditions of biological tissues

An optical-physical system for extracting information about the fluctuations in the optical anisotropy of strongly scattering biological tissues is considered. A model is proposed for the formation of a depolarized background by birefringent and dichroic structures. An explicit form and symmetry of the completely depolarized component of the Mueller matrix is determined, a second-order differential matrix. An algorithm for the analytic determination of the distributions of elements of a second-order differential matrix is found. Interrelations between the magnitude of the elements of the second-order differential matrix and the fluctuations of the linear and circular birefringence-dichroism are obtained. The technique of diffuse tomography of an optically anisotropic component of strongly scattering biological tissues has been developed and experimentally tested. Maps of the distributions of the elements of the completely depolarized component of the Mueller matrix of the histological sections of the internal organs of the healthy and of the diabetic rats . The sensitivity, specificity and balanced accuracy of the method of diffuse tomography of the polycrystalline structure of tumors of the uterine wall and the degree of hemorrhage of the liver are determined

System 3D Jones-matrix polarimetry of polycrystalline films of biological fluids

A model of multilayer polycrystalline structure of films of biological fluids of human organs has been developed. Each layer is associated with a partial Jones-matrix operator of phase and amplitude anisotropy. A new principle for detecting polarization-inhomogeneous object fields using a coherent laser wave is proposed. Algorithms for digital holographic reconstruction of field distributions of complex amplitudes in the plane of a polycrystalline film of a biological fluid are found. A new optical technique is proposed: direct measurement of 3D distributions of elements of the Jones matrix. Maps of layer-by-layer distributions of elements of the Jones matrix of polycrystalline urine films are tudied. Sensitivity, specificity and balanced accuracy of the 3D Jones-matrix tomography method of the polycrystalline structure of urine films of healthy donors and patients with lbuminuria were determined. Within the framework of the statistical analysis of stratified maps of elements of the Jones matrix of polycrystalline urine films, objective criteria for the early diagnosis of the onset and course of albuminuria were found

Polarization correlometry of scattering biological tissues and fluids

This book presents a new diagnostic approach that utilizes complex statistical, correlation, fractal, and singular analysis of spatial distribution of the Stokes vector of scattered polarized light in different diffraction zones. The technique is able to identify changes in the distribution of optical axes and the birefringent indices of multi-layered fibrillar networks of biological tissues. The book also presents various scenarios for the formation of polarization singularities in laser speckle images of phase-inhomogeneous, multi-layered biological tissues in terms of the characteristic values of Mueller-matrix images. Moreover, in the context of potential diagnostic applications, it discusses the states of polarization singularities and their changes associated with the pathological abnormalities of the extracellular matrix of human tissues, its spatial peculiarities and structural orientation