sMC (Scaling Monte Carlo)

Optical diagnostic techniques

1. Monitor physiological parameters by using optical methods
2. Analyze spectral features that give diagnostic information
3. detect disease (cancer and/or precancer)

Spectroscopy

Measuring the wavelength dependent changes of light after interaction with matters can give us some information about the matter of interest.

Algorithm Steps

• Simulation with a Large Number

Use a large number of photons to solve the photon propagation problem (simulate how photons propagate in tissue.)

• Random Walk

Track the “random walk” of photons in a medium with both absorption and scattering.

• Pros

Flexible and accurate. It can handle any source and detector geometry, tissue geometry and tissue optical properties.

• Cons

Very time-consuming!!! Large numbers (107~108)of photons are needed!!!

Scaling Monte Carlo (sMC)

• sMC has higher accuarcy.
• Competible speed-up ratio (Relative acceleration to standard MC is around 200).
• sMC is practical and flexible to model light transport in inhomogeneous layered tissue.
• We can get the results of different wavelength in only one time simulation. However, there are no available open source software based on sMC yet.