Abstract

We present a Monte Carlo (MC) program for detennining the temporal behavior of radiation in turbid media, in general, and a tissue, in particular. An object-oriented MC program with flexibility for parallel implementation, and for perfonning stochastic analysis, is described. We detennine the temporal probability distribution functions for three tissues: I) a lipid-based tissue phantom, II) a healthy dental tissue, and III) a dental tissue with caries. The expected time of flight for transmitted radiation is calculated. Signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) are then obtained for several temporal thresholds. By restraining the time threshold, a two orders of magnitude increase in SNR is predicted. A multivariate analysis is finally proposed to complement the discrimination process, necessary for trans-illumination interferometry.

© 2007 SPIE