- DIFFUSE OPTICAL TOMOGRAPHY
Optical computed tomography, known as Diffuse Optical Tomography
(DOT), uses near-infrared light to quantitatively investigate in vivo
and without ionizing radiations the spatial distribution of optical
properties in biological tissues.
While the potentiality of this technology as a screening and diagnostic tool is very promising, significant issues have hindered in the past its development. These were mainly related to technologial obstacles (for example a light source with sufficient penetration) and, from a modeling viewpoint, to the complex physics of light crossing biological tissues. As a matter of fact, light undergoes in the tissue strong scattering, so that emerging photons are the result of diffusive (random) paths, which are not easily traceable back. This, in turn, implies an inherent difficulty in reconstructing the distribution of the optical coefficients that gave rise to those paths, the so-called DOT inverse problem. From the mathematical viewpoint, this problem displays severe ill-conditioning and an appropriate numerical treatment of regularization is needed in order to avoid aberrant image reconstruction.
In this research topic we focus on DOT for fast breast screening. We aim at developing algorithms to produce fast and accurate results, almost in real-time. The investigations address i) effective regularization of the ill-conditioned DOT inverse problem ii) enhancement of the accuracy by the method of Fundamental solutions
A presentation on DOT
While the potentiality of this technology as a screening and diagnostic tool is very promising, significant issues have hindered in the past its development. These were mainly related to technologial obstacles (for example a light source with sufficient penetration) and, from a modeling viewpoint, to the complex physics of light crossing biological tissues. As a matter of fact, light undergoes in the tissue strong scattering, so that emerging photons are the result of diffusive (random) paths, which are not easily traceable back. This, in turn, implies an inherent difficulty in reconstructing the distribution of the optical coefficients that gave rise to those paths, the so-called DOT inverse problem. From the mathematical viewpoint, this problem displays severe ill-conditioning and an appropriate numerical treatment of regularization is needed in order to avoid aberrant image reconstruction.
In this research topic we focus on DOT for fast breast screening. We aim at developing algorithms to produce fast and accurate results, almost in real-time. The investigations address i) effective regularization of the ill-conditioned DOT inverse problem ii) enhancement of the accuracy by the method of Fundamental solutions
A presentation on DOT
- MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF MICROCIRCULATORY NETWORKS
The microcirculation plays a major role
in maintaining homeostasis in the body. Alterations or dysfunction of
the microcirculation lead to several types of serious diseases. It is
not surprising, then, that the microcirculation has been an object of
intense theoretical and experimental study over the past few decades.
Mathematical approaches offer a valuable method for quantifying the
relationships between various mechanical, hemodynamic, and regulatory
factors of the microcirculation and the
pathophysiology of numerous diseases. In this research topic, I investigate the many different aspects of the microcirculation, including the geometry of the vascular bed, blood flow in the vascular networks, solute transport and delivery to the surrounding tissue, and vessel wall mechanics under passive and active stimuli. A special emphasis is placed on models of the retinal circulation, including models that predict the influence of ocular hemodynamic alterations with the progression of ocular diseases such as glaucoma.
pathophysiology of numerous diseases. In this research topic, I investigate the many different aspects of the microcirculation, including the geometry of the vascular bed, blood flow in the vascular networks, solute transport and delivery to the surrounding tissue, and vessel wall mechanics under passive and active stimuli. A special emphasis is placed on models of the retinal circulation, including models that predict the influence of ocular hemodynamic alterations with the progression of ocular diseases such as glaucoma.