SC340 Tissue Optics and Optical Coherence Tomography

Sunday, October 11, 2009
1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Kirill Larin¹, Valery V. Tuchin²; ¹Univ. of Houston, USA, ²Saratov State Univ., Russian Federation
Level: Advanced Beginner (basic understanding of topic is necessary to follow course material)

Course Description

This course presents a basic description of light-tissue interaction including structural and optical models of tissues with single and multiple scattering. Intensity- and spatially modulated, coherent and polarized light interactions with random and quasi-organized tissues will be considered. It will be shown that light reflection, transmission, scattering and state of polarization can be effectively controlled by changes of tissue structure and the refractive index of tissue components. The concept of matching the refractive index of scatterers and ground matter by administration of chemical agents to control optical properties of tissues and blood will be discussed. Various medical optical diagnostic methods and instruments based on CW, time-resolved, and spatially resolved light scattering spectroscopy and tomography, speckle interferometry, confocal and two-photon microscopy, and polarimetry will be presented.

Special emphasis will be devoted to theory and applications of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) techniques. Applications of these methods and techniques to control tissue and blood optical properties; to monitor structure and image human tissues (such as skin, eye tissues, the body’s interior tissues, the cerebral membrane, bone, cartilage and tendon) will be discussed. In addition, instructors will present an overview of recent developments in functional imaging of different tissues with OCT, including noninvasive monitoring of drug diffusion and optical clearing, detection and assessment of microbubbles and nanoparticles in tissues and blood, early diagnostics of arteriosclerosis, and imaging of early embryonic cardiovascular system development.

Benefits and Learning Objectives

This course should enable you to:

  • Describe intensity- and spatially modulated, coherent and polarized light propagation in random and quasi-organized tissues.
  • Summarize principles and schemes for basic light scattering spectroscopic instruments, such as Optical Coherence Tomography, CW fiber optic multi-channel spectrometer, frequency-domain spectrometer and tomograph, etc.
  • Explain mechanisms of tissue optical properties control due to immersion agent applications.
  • Recognize optical and diffusive properties of blood, fibrous and epithelial tissue, including eye sclera, cornea, cerebral membrane and human skin, controlled by administration of cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.
  • Identify usage of the appropriate light scattering spectroscopic and imaging techniques.
  • Summarize recent advances in optical imaging with OCT.

Intended Audience

Engineers, scientists and physicians who are interested in optical imaging and spectroscopy, laser methods, instruments design, and application for medical science and clinics will find this course useful. University education on the level of MS in engineering, physics, biophysics or medicine is required. Some prior knowledge of optics, statistics, histology and cell biology is desirable. Some experience in biomedical optics research is also desirable.

Instructor Biographies

Kirill V. Larin is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Houston. His research is focused on developing of optical methods for imaging and sensing of biological and non-biological materials and processes. He is a recipient of number of awards including the Presidential Award, Wallace Coulter Young Investigator Translation Award, and Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the Houston Society for Engineers in Medicine and Biology. Valery V. Tuchin is the head of the Division of Optics and Biophotonics and director of the Research-Educational Institute of Optics and Biophotonics at Saratov State University. He has authored more than 250 papers and books, including his latest, Tissue Optics, Light Scattering Methods and Instruments for Medical Diagnosis. He is an SPIE Fellow, and in 2007 was awarded a SPIE Educational Award.