Monte Carlo simulation of zinc protoporphyrin fluorescence in the retina

Xiaoyan Chen; Stephen Lane

doi:10.1117/12.840759

25 February 2010 Monte Carlo simulation of zinc protoporphyrin fluorescence in the retina

Xiaoyan Chen, Stephen Lane

Proceedings Volume 7572, Optical Diagnostics and Sensing X: Toward Point-of-Care Diagnostics; 75720G (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.840759
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2010, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We have used Monte Carlo simulation of autofluorescence in the retina to determine that noninvasive detection of nutritional iron deficiency is possible. Nutritional iron deficiency (which leads to iron deficiency anemia) affects more than 2 billion people worldwide, and there is an urgent need for a simple, noninvasive diagnostic test. Zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) is a fluorescent compound that accumulates in red blood cells and is used as a biomarker for nutritional iron deficiency. We developed a computational model of the eye, using parameters that were identified either by literature search, or by direct experimental measurement to test the possibility of detecting ZPP non-invasively in retina. By incorporating fluorescence into Steven Jacques' original code for multi-layered tissue, we performed Monte Carlo simulation of fluorescence in the retina and determined that if the beam is not focused on a blood vessel in a neural retina layer or if part of light is hitting the vessel, ZPP fluorescence will be 10-200 times higher than background lipofuscin fluorescence coming from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer directly below. In addition we found that if the light can be focused entirely onto a blood vessel in the neural retina layer, the fluorescence signal comes only from ZPP. The fluorescence from layers below in this second situation does not contribute to the signal. Therefore, the possibility that a device could potentially be built and detect ZPP fluorescence in retina looks very promising.

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Xiaoyan Chen and Stephen Lane "Monte Carlo simulation of zinc protoporphyrin fluorescence in the retina", Proc. SPIE 7572, Optical Diagnostics and Sensing X: Toward Point-of-Care Diagnostics, 75720G (25 February 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.840759

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KEYWORDS

Luminescence

Retina

Monte Carlo methods

Blood vessels

Photons

Absorption

Iron

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