An ultrasonography-based approach for optical diagnostics and phototherapy treatment strategies

TL;DR

This paper presents a low-cost, non-invasive ultrasound-based method combined with optical simulations to improve photo-therapy planning by providing real-time, patient-specific insights into light transport and energy deposition in tissues.

Contribution

It introduces a novel protocol integrating ultrasound imaging with Monte Carlo optical simulations for personalized, real-time photo-therapy guidance.

Findings

Validated light transport in biological tissue

Provided temporal monitoring of energy deposition

Flexible testing of various wavelengths

Abstract

Currently, diagnostic medicine uses a multitude of tools ranging from ionising radiation to histology analysis. With advances in piezoelectric crystal technology, high-frequency ultrasound imaging has developed to achieve comparatively high resolution without the drawbacks of ionising radiation. This research proposes a low-cost, non-invasive and real-time protocol for informing photo-therapy procedures using ultrasound imaging. We combine currently available ultrasound procedures with Monte Carlo methods for assessing light transport and photo-energy deposition in the tissue. The measurements from high-resolution ultrasound scans is used as input for optical simulations. Consequently, this provides a pipeline that will inform medical practitioners for better therapy strategy planning. While validating known inferences of light transport through biological tissue, our results highlight the range of information such as temporal monitoring and energy deposition at varying depths. This process also retains the flexibility of testing various wavelengths for individual-specific geometries and anatomy.