Comparative study of differential matrix and extended polar decomposition formalisms for polarimetric characterization of complex tissue-like turbid media

Development of methodologies for quantification/unique interpretation of the intrinsic polarimetry characteristics of biological tissues are important for various applications involving tissue characterization/diagnosis. A detailed comparative evaluation of the polar decomposition and the differential matrix decomposition of Mueller matrices for extraction/quantification of the intrinsic polarimetry characteristics (with special emphasis on linear retardance delta, optical rotation Psi and depolarization Delta parameters was performed, because these are the most prominent tissue polarimetry effects) from complex tissue-like turbid media exhibiting simultaneous scattering and polarization effects. The results suggest that for media exhibiting simultaneous linear retardance and optical rotation polarization events, the use of retarder polar decomposition with its associated analysis which assumes sequential occurrence of these effects, results in systematic underestimation of delta and overestimation of Psi parameters. Analytical relationships between the polarization parameters (delta, Psi) extracted from both the retarder polar decomposition and the differential matrix decomposition for either simultaneous or sequential occurrence of the linear retardance and optical rotation effects were derived. The self-consistency of both decompositions is validated on experimental Mueller matrices recorded from tissue-simulating phantoms (whose polarization properties are controlled, known a-priori, and exhibited simultaneously) of increasing biological complexity. Additional theoretical validation tests were performed on Monte Carlo-generated Mueller matrices from analogous turbid media exhibiting simultaneous depolarization (Delta), linear retardance (delta) and optical rotation (Psi) effects. After successful evaluation, the potential advantage of the differential matrix decomposition over the polar decomposition formalism was explored for monitoring of myocardial tissue regeneration following stem cell therapy. (C) 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.JBO.17.10.105006]