A Monte-Carlo maplet for the study of the optical properties of biological tissues

Monte-Carlo simulations are commonly used to study complex physical processes in various fields of physics. In this paper we present a Maple program intended for Monte-Carlo simulations of photon transport in biological tissues. The program has been designed so that the input data and output display can be handled by a maplet (an easy and user-friendly graphical interface), named the MonteCarloMaplet. A thorough explanation of the programming steps and how to use the maplet is given. Results obtained with the Maple program are compared with corresponding results available in the literature.Program summaryProgram title:MonteCarloMapletCatalogue identifier:ADZU_v1_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADZU_v1_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.htmlNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.:3251No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.:296 465Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language:Maple 10Computer: Acer Aspire 5610 (any running Maple 10)Operating system: Windows XP professional (any running Maple 10)Classification: 3.1, 5Nature of problem: Simulate the transport of radiation in biological tissues.Solution method: The Maple program follows the steps of the C program of L. Wang et al. [L. Wang, S.L. Jacques, L. Zheng, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine 47 (1995) 131–146]; The Maple library routine for random number generation is used [Maple 10 User Manual c Maplesoft, a division of Waterloo Maple Inc., 2005].Restrictions: Running time increases rapidly with the number of photons used in the simulation.Unusual features: A maplet (graphical user interface) has been programmed for data input and output. Note that the Monte-Carlo simulation was programmed with Maple 10. If attempting to run the simulation with an earlier version of Maple, appropriate modifications (regarding typesetting fonts) are required and once effected the worksheet runs without problem. However some of the windows of the maplet may still appear distorted.Running time: Depends essentially on the number of photons used in the simulation. Elapsed times for particular runs are reported in the main text.