Latest progress of Monte Carlo simulation of light transmission in tissues

Abstract

The advantages of using Monte Carlo method for simulating radiative transfer in complex turbid random media like biological tissues are well recognized. However, in most biophotonic applications, the wave nature of probing optical radiation is ignored, and its propagation is considered in terms of neutral particles, the so-called photon packets. Nevertheless, when the fundamental principle of some particular optical techniques for revealing the physiological and pathological information of tissues are based on the interference and polarization or coherent effects of scattering of optical/laser radiation, the wave nature of optical radiation must be considered. In this paper, latest development of Monte Carlo method for simulating light transmission in tissues is reviewed and its bio-photonic applications are presented.