Accuracy of a Simple Diffusion Model of Fluorescence for Estimating Fluorophore Concentration

Monte Carlo simulations and experiments in tissue-simulating phantoms were performed to study the accuracy of fluorophore concentrations recovered using a diffusion theory model of fluorescence. Fluorophore concentration was measured using three fluorophores with an overall root-mean-square accuracy of 13.7%. These experiments were compared with concentration measurements by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, which were less accurate for all three fluorophores. Monte Carlo simulations were also used to examine the ability of the model to recover concentration from layered fluorophore distributions.