Open AccessLookup table-based sampling of the phase function for Monte Carlo simulations of light propagation in turbid media
Author(s) -
Peter Naglič,
Franjo Pernuš,
Boštjan Likar,
Miran Bürmen
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
biomedical optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.362
H-Index - 86
ISSN - 2156-7085
DOI - 10.1364/boe.8.001895
Subject(s) - monte carlo method , sampling (signal processing) , monte carlo integration , importance sampling , monte carlo method in statistical physics , lookup table , dynamic monte carlo method , computer science , statistical physics , hybrid monte carlo , rejection sampling , function (biology) , algorithm , optics , markov chain monte carlo , physics , mathematics , statistics , detector , programming language , evolutionary biology , biology
Analytical expressions for sampling the scattering angle from a phase function in Monte Carlo simulations of light propagation are available only for a limited number of phase functions. Consequently, numerical sampling methods based on tabulated values are often required instead. By using Monte Carlo simulated reflectance, we compare two existing and propose an improved numerical sampling method and show that both the number of the tabulated values and the numerical sampling method significantly influence the accuracy of the simulated reflectance. The provided results and guidelines should serve as a good starting point for conducting computationally efficient Monte Carlo simulations with numerical phase function sampling.