Comprehensive analytical model for CW laser induced heat in turbid media

In this work, we present a new analytical approach to model continuous wave laser induced temperature in highly homogeneous turbid media. First, the diffusion equation is used to model light transport and a comprehensive solution is derived analytically by obtaining a special Greens' function. Next, the time-dependent bio-heat equation is used to describe the induced heat increase and propagation within the medium. The bio-heat equation is solved analytically utilizing the separation of variables technique. Our theoretical model is successfully validated using numerical simulations and experimental studies with agarose phantoms and ex-vivo chicken breast samples. The encouraging results show that our method can be implemented as a simulation tool to determine important laser parameters that govern the magnitude of temperature rise within homogenous biological tissue or organs. (c) 2015 Optical Society of America