title: Phantoms for diffuse optical imaging based on totally absorbing objects, part 2: experimental implementation.
abstract: We present the experimental implementation and validation of a phantom for diffuse optical imaging based on totally absorbing objects for which, in the previous paper [J. Biomed. Opt.18(6), 066014, (2013)], we have provided the basic theory. Totally absorbing objects have been manufactured as black polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cylinders and the phantom is a water dilution of intralipid-20% as the diffusive medium and India ink as the absorber, filled into a black scattering cell made of PVC. By means of time-domain measurements and of Monte Carlo simulations, we have shown the reliability, the accuracy, and the robustness of such a phantom in mimicking typical absorbing perturbations of diffuse optical imaging. In particular, we show that such a phantom can be used to generate any absorption perturbation by changing the volume and position of the totally absorbing inclusion.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell'Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via G. Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell'Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via G. Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Di Ninni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell'Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via G. Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zaccanti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Contini
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spinelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torricelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, ItalycIstituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Rinaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cubeddu
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestrasse 2-12, 10587 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Heidrun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wabnitz
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestrasse 2-12, 10587 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Mikhail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazurenka
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestrasse 2-12, 10587 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.affiliation: Tufts University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States.
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sassaroli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, ItalycIstituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pifferi
mesh_terms: D008954:Models, Biological; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging