Discrete ordinates method for propagation of light in highly scattering vascular tissues

This work considers the propagation of light in a semitransparent layer of vascular tissue, submitted to radiative boundary conditions. The solution procedure must provide accurate light distribution in the layer, so a discrete ordinates method based on the exact transport theory is carried out. An advantage of this method is its ability to account easily for various boundary conditions as well as optical heterogeneity. The influences of anisotropic scattering, optical discontinuity, optical parameters of tissue and refractive index on radiant fluence rate are investigated carefully. It is shown that reflections tend to produce more uniform profiles within the tissue.