Enhancement of optical penetration depth of LED-based NIRS systems by comparing different beam profiles

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive brain imaging technique involving the quantification of oxy and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations resolved from the measurement of Near-Infrared (NIR) light attenuation within the tissue. Previous studies have shown that NIR light is more influenced by the optical properties of the superficial layers than those of the deeper target layers such as cortex. NIR light produced by the Laser source penetrates deeper regions of the tissue rather than the LED source although Laser needs more expensive instrumentation. In this study, we investigate the effect of Uniform and Gaussian beam profiles on the enhancement of LED light penetration depth. The latter beam profiles were generated and compared using Flat and Aspherical lenses applied to the LED sources. In order to increase the signal to noise ratio, the lenses were also applied to the light detector. For performance analysis, two experiments were carried out by scanning the intra space of a liquid phantom by static and dynamic (pulsating) absorbers. Monte Carlo simulations were also carried out to be compared with the experiment. The results showed that Gaussian beam profile and in particular, Bi-Convex lenses applied to both source and detector leads to a greater light penetration depth in the liquid phantom close to that of a Laser source.