Enhancing Imaging Depth and Sensitivity in Reflectance Mode Near Infrared Optical Imaging with Scatter Reducing Agents

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Paul, Mannu Bardhan, Niknam, Kaiser, Das, Mini
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Paul, Mannu Bardhan
Niknam, Kaiser
Das, Mini
author_facet Paul, Mannu Bardhan
Niknam, Kaiser
Das, Mini
contents We investigate the role of scatter reducing agents in a continuous wave (CW) near infrared (NIR)reflectance mode imaging setting. We use food-grade dye Tartrazine as a scatter reducing agent to enhance depth sensitivity and weak-absorber detectability in CW diffuse reflectance measurements. We found that reflectance signal was enhanced when the dye was applied on chicken breast phantom. However, we saw reduced reflectance sensitivity when the dye was uniformly dissolved in intralipid phantom which is a commonly used for NIR imaging studies. This shows that the gradient of refractive index modulation created as the dye diffuses from the top layer allows increased reflectance signal sensitivity of optical photons. However, when the scatter reduction is uniform throughout the phantom (like in intralipid phantom), the improved reflectance sensitivity was not observed. Our study points to significant redistribution of photons with scatter modulation with Tartrazine dye. We show significant improvement in sensitivity to signals with reflectance imaging. To elucidate the underlying mechanism of dye induced scatter reduction in tissue, analytical diffusion models and Monte Carlo simulations were employed. Modeling results show the impact of refractive index gradient created due to dye diffusion in enhancing reflectance sensitivity. These findings demonstrate that dye induced scatter reduction provides a practical, low-complexity approach to improving depth sensitivity in CW diffuse reflectance measurements and extend the functional capabilities of CW-NIRS systems for deep-tissue sensing applications. Our preliminary studies shows up to five fold enhancement in signal sensitivity for signals between two and three cm depth.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_00368
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Enhancing Imaging Depth and Sensitivity in Reflectance Mode Near Infrared Optical Imaging with Scatter Reducing Agents
Paul, Mannu Bardhan
Niknam, Kaiser
Das, Mini
Optics
Image and Video Processing
Applied Physics
Medical Physics
We investigate the role of scatter reducing agents in a continuous wave (CW) near infrared (NIR)reflectance mode imaging setting. We use food-grade dye Tartrazine as a scatter reducing agent to enhance depth sensitivity and weak-absorber detectability in CW diffuse reflectance measurements. We found that reflectance signal was enhanced when the dye was applied on chicken breast phantom. However, we saw reduced reflectance sensitivity when the dye was uniformly dissolved in intralipid phantom which is a commonly used for NIR imaging studies. This shows that the gradient of refractive index modulation created as the dye diffuses from the top layer allows increased reflectance signal sensitivity of optical photons. However, when the scatter reduction is uniform throughout the phantom (like in intralipid phantom), the improved reflectance sensitivity was not observed. Our study points to significant redistribution of photons with scatter modulation with Tartrazine dye. We show significant improvement in sensitivity to signals with reflectance imaging. To elucidate the underlying mechanism of dye induced scatter reduction in tissue, analytical diffusion models and Monte Carlo simulations were employed. Modeling results show the impact of refractive index gradient created due to dye diffusion in enhancing reflectance sensitivity. These findings demonstrate that dye induced scatter reduction provides a practical, low-complexity approach to improving depth sensitivity in CW diffuse reflectance measurements and extend the functional capabilities of CW-NIRS systems for deep-tissue sensing applications. Our preliminary studies shows up to five fold enhancement in signal sensitivity for signals between two and three cm depth.
title Enhancing Imaging Depth and Sensitivity in Reflectance Mode Near Infrared Optical Imaging with Scatter Reducing Agents
topic Optics
Image and Video Processing
Applied Physics
Medical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00368