Mueller matrix polar decomposition (MMPD) is capable of extracting intrinsic polarimetric characteristics of tissue-like media, including the orientation angle of the linear retardance axis. Here we propose a modified MMPD parameter to calculate linear birefringence orientation for multi-layered media. By measuring different experimental layered phantoms designed by ourselves and pathological tissue slices, we demonstrate that the calibrated new parameter can show more accurately the fast axis orientation angle. Since the multi-layered anisotropic structures are widely distributed in biomedical samples, we believe that the parameter proposed in this study can be helpful for future biomedical diagnosis.
Breast cancer is a serious threat to women worldwide due to its high incidence and mortality. The early detection is very crucial for the treatment of breast cancer. Currently, for breast cancer patients, mammography and stereotactic needle biopsy followed by time-consuming pathological observations are the primary diagnostic approaches. In our previous study, it was found that the characteristic features of breast carcinoma tissues often include fibrous structures induced by inflammatory reactions, which can be quantitatively evaluated by polarimetric techniques. In this study, we further measure the transmission Mueller matrix microscopic images of 30 breast ductal tissue samples at different progression stages. We calculate the Mueller matrix derived parameters, which can provide the quantitative information on the location, density and distribution behavior of the fibrous structures in the tissues. To evaluate the distribution behavior of fibrous structures more quantitatively and precisely, we also analyze the parameters δ and θ using the gray level cooccurrence matrix (GLCM) analyzing method. The results demonstrate that, the GLCM features Contrast, Energy, Correlation and Homogeneity of δ and θ can be used to describe different textures of fibers distributions among the healthy, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) tissue samples, whereas the parameters of unpolarized light intensity images show no prominent differences. The Mueller matrix derived parameters combined with image analyzing methods can be used for label-free detecting and quantitative staging of breast carcinoma tissues, which can be helpful for clinical diagnosis.
Anisotropic structures such as collagen, elastic, and muscle fibers are prevalent in biological tissues. Obtaining the orientation distribution information of these anisotropic structures is important in various biomedical applications. Recently, it is found that polarization imaging, especially Mueller matrix polarimetry can bring abundant microscopic information of complex samples. Previous studies demonstrated that the anisotropic properties in tissues may originate from both scattering or birefringence, which can hardly be distinguished clearly. In this study, we use the Mueller matrix polar decomposition (MMPD) and Mueller matrix transformation (MMT) parameters to obtain the accurate orientations of both the anisotropic scatterers and birefringence of turbid media in backscattering measurement. The experimental results of tissue phantoms and Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the MMT and MMPD parameters have the ability to distinguish the orientations of cylindrical scatterers and birefringence in a complex medium. The preliminary application on bovine tendon tissue samples with and without external force also demonstrates that the Mueller matrix derived parameters can be used to reveal the accurate anisotropy orientations in biological tissues. Moreover, to better understand the relationship between the anisotropy orientations and the Mueller matrix derived parameters, we also analyze the transmission Mueller matrix images of phantoms consisting of wave plates with different axis orientations. The results indicate that the anisotropy orientations information can be clearly revealed using the Mueller matrix derived parameters and may be helpful for future biomedical studies or diagnosis.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.