# Polarization-Interference Jones Matrix Sensors of Layer-by-Layer Scanning of Polycrystalline Dehydrated Blood Films. Fundamental and Applied Aspects

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method using polarization-interference imaging to detect cancer-related changes in blood samples with high accuracy.

## Contribution

A novel multifunctional method for polarization-interference visualization and phase reconstruction of blood facies is developed.

## Key findings

- Jones matrix theziography (JT) outperforms MDT in early and current cancer diagnostics accuracy.
- JT achieves excellent differentiation of papillary thyroid cancer stages.
- Statistically significant markers of oncological changes in blood facies were identified.

## Abstract

To date, visual analysis is mainly used to evaluate images of dehydrated films (facies) of biological fluids—microscopy at various magnifications, illumination with white or polarized light, as well as using a dark field. At the same time, important information on the architectonics of optically anisotropic supramolecular networks of facies is unknown (inaccessible). In our work, a model of optical anisotropy of the architectonics of supramolecular networks of blood facies is proposed. Algorithms and a methodology for a new multifunctional method of polarization-interference visualization of the Jones matrix and digital layer-by-layer phase reconstruction of optical anisotropy maps (theziograms) have been developed. As a result, statistically significant markers of oncological changes in the polycrystalline architectonics of supramolecular networks of blood facies samples from healthy donors and patients with papillary thyroid cancer at different stages of the oncological process have been determined and physically analyzed. A comparative study of the diagnostic efficiency of Jones matrix theziography (JT) and Mueller matrix diffusion tomography (MDT) of blood facies samples was conducted within the framework of evidence-based medicine. The main advantages of the Jones matrix method are shown: its multifunctionality (complex detection of birefringence and dichroism), high accuracy of early (stage 1: JM—90.4% and MDT—78.8%) and current (stage 2: JM—96.2% and MDT—88.5%) cancer diagnostics and an excellent level (JM—94.2% and MDT—84.6%) of differentiation of papillary thyroid cancer stages.