Author: Suman Shrestha

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13:

In the year 2012, there were approximately 226,160 cases of lung cancer and 160,340 deaths out of it as per the National Cancer Institute. There are mainly two types of lung cancer, small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, of which 87% are diagnosed as non-small cell. A physical algorithm and a systematic study relating the morphological, chemical and metabolic properties of lung cancer to the physical and optical parameters of the polarimetric detection process are missing. Therefore, one of the purposes of the study is to explore the polarimetric phenomenology of near infrared light interaction with healthy and lung cancer monoline cells by using efficient polarimetric backscattering detection techniques. Preliminary results indicate that enhanced discrimination between healthy and different types of lung cancer cells can be achieved based on their backscattered intensities, Mueller matrix, diattenuation and depolarization properties. Also, various optical parameters like linear depolarization ratio and degree of linear polarization play an important role in discriminating healthy and different lung cancer cells. Specifically, the sizes of the nuclei of the cancer cells and the nucleus-to-cytoplasmic ratios appear to have potential impact on the detected polarimetric signatures leading to enhanced discrimination of lung cancer cells. The second work in this thesis has been done with the support of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Polarimetric signals have always played an important role in the identification, discrimination and analysis of a material's optical properties. This work presents a novel remote sensing approach based on polarimetric fractal detection principles. Backscattered polarimetric signals contribution from different materials used in space applications have already been detected using a laboratory LADAR testbed and this thesis presents implememtation of the LADAR testbed and analysis techniques of these backscattered signals based on fractal analysis. Fractal dimension has been chosen as a measure for the discrimination purposes of these materials. The outcome of this thesis indicates that polarimetric fractal principles may enhance the capabilities of the LADAR for characterization and discrimination of different materials.