Flux vector formulation for photon propagation in the biological tissue

Abstract

We present a generalized delta-Eddington phase function to simplify the radiative transfer equation to an integral equation with respect to the photon flux vector. The solution of the integral equation is highly accurate to model the photon propagation in the biological tissue over a broad range of optical parameters, especially in the visible light spectrum where the diffusion approximation breaks down. The methodology is validated in the Monte Carlo simulation and can be applied in various optical imaging applications.