Simulation-based validation of the physical model in 3D polarized light imaging

Abstract

3D Polarized Light Imaging is a neuroimaging technique that provides a high-resolution reconstruction of nerve fiber pathways in human postmortem brains. The spatial fiber orientations are derived from birefringence measurements of histological brain sections which are interpreted by a macroscopic model of uniaxial birefringence. In order to validate the macroscopic model and to investigate possible limitations, numerical simulations have been used. Simulations of a fiber bundle with different inclination angles and optical resolutions have shown that the macroscopic model ensures a reliable estimation of the fiber orientations as long as the polarimeter does not resolve structures smaller than the fiber radius.