Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that frequently leads to joint destruction. It has high incidence rates worldwide, and the disease
significantly reduces patient’s quality of life due to pain, swelling and stiffness of the affected joints. Early diagnosis is
necessary to improve course of the disease, therefore sensitive and accurate diagnostic tools are required.
Optical imaging techniques have capability for early diagnosis and monitoring of arthritis. As compared to conventional
diagnostic techniques optical technique is a noninvasive, noncontact and fast way of collecting diagnostic information.
However, a realistic model of light transport in human joints is needed for understanding and developing of such optical
diagnostic tools. The aim of this study is to develop a 3D numerical model of light transport in a human finger. The model will
guide development of a hyperspectral imaging (HSI) diagnostic modality for arthritis in human fingers.
The implemented human finger geometry is based on anatomical data. Optical data of finger tissues are adjusted to represent
either an arthritic or an unaffected finger. The geometry and optical data serve as input into a 3D Monte Carlo method, which
calculate diffuse reflectance, transmittance and absorbed energy distributions. The parameters of the model are optimized
based on HIS-measurements of human fingers.
The presented model serves as an important tool for understanding and development of HSI as an arthritis diagnostic modality. Yet, it can be applied to other optical techniques and finger diseases.
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