IMPORTANCE OF THE DEL-D TERM IN FREQUENCY-RESOLVED OPTICAL DIFFUSION IMAGING

The effects of the approximation del D = 0 that is often used in frequ ency-resolved optical diffusion imaging are examined. It is shown that this approximation can affect the performance of integral-equation-ba sed approaches to optical diffusion imaging, such as the Born iterativ e method and the distorted Born iterative method. The approximation in troduces errors into the calculation of data used in simulations, whic h can lead to misleading evaluations of reconstruction algorithms. Num erical calculations show the magnitude of these effects and the appear ance of artifacts in reconstructed images when conventional inversion algorithms are applied to more accurately calculated data. (C) 1998 Op tical Society of America.