Mueller matrix imaging of prostate bulk tissues; Polarization parameters as a discriminating benchmark

Abstract

The polarimetry imaging technique has provided a powerful tool for discriminating normal from cancerous tissues. In this paper, based on the backscattering Mueller matrix imaging of prostate bulk tissues, (received immediately after surgery without any further processing), we have extracted the characteristic features of the Mueller matrix images. In order to provide a quantitative and more accurate comparison, three different methods have been used; the Mueller matrix polar decomposition (MMPD), the Mueller matrix transformation (MMT) and the frequency distribution histograms (FDHs) and their central moment parameters. Comparing different tissues, the results of our study indicate that these methods provide the indicators for the characteristics of the microstructural features of the tissues. The indicators have the potential to distinguish between cancerous and healthy tissues. Determining the polarimetric characteristics of the tissue immediately after surgery and prior to the pathology, and the potential possibility of this technique to be used in vivo as an optical biopsy technique, can significantly reduce the cost and time of diagnosis of cancer.

Keywords: Cancer detection; Mueller matrix; Polarimetry imaging; Prostate tissue.