Abstract

We present a study based on the diffusion approximation model which includes the spatial variation of the refractive index of turbid media. In optical imaging, the refractive index has been assumed as a constant to date. But in fact, the refractive index of the skin is much lager than that of the underlying tissue. We simulated with the skin thickness varying from 1 to 3mm and the refractive index of skin from 1.40 to 1.55. Our simulations show that both the refractive index and thickness of skin have significant impact on the reconstructed images. We are currently conducting phantom experiments to confirm the findings from simulations.

© 2002 Optical Society of America