Modeling the forward problem based on the adaptive FEMs framework in bioluminescence tomography

Bioluminescence tomography (BLT) is a novel technique in vivo which may localize and quantify bioluminescent source to reveal the molecular and cellular information, and therefore it can monitor the growth and regression of tumor non-invasively. In complicated biological tissue, the accuracy improvement of numerical solution to the forward problem of BLT is beneficial to achieve better spatial resolution of source distribution. In this paper, we introduce the adaptive FEMs framework based on the diffusion equation to enhance the solution accuracy of the forward problem, and the bioluminescence imaging experiment has been performed with the heterogeneous physical phantom which is also scanned by microCT scanner to generate the volumetric mesh as the initial finite element mesh. Finally, The effectiveness of the adaptive FEMs framework is demonstrated with the comparison between the experimental results and the simulation solution.