Acknowledgements

UCLA Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity (CEED) Howard Hughes Medical Institute Center for Advanced Surgical
and Interventional Technology (CASIT) UCLA Engineering Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science Special
Thanks to the Grundfest Lab and members
Polished with 36m Polished with 15m
Investigation of Rough Surface Scattering in Terahertz Imaging
Alondra Rivas, Jun Y. Jang, Shijun Sung, Zachary D. Taylor, Warren S. Grundfest
Department of Electrical Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Depart of Surgery, DGSOM, Los Angeles

Abstract: The Terahertz (THz) imaging maps tissue hydration from its acute sensitivity to water. In THz sensing of biological tissue, surface roughness is of critical importance because scattering from surface roughness changes and confounds the accurate measurement of
THz signature of tissue. When applied to samples with varying degrees of surface roughness, variation in signal power and deviation was observed. The experiment was prepared by using grinded brass plates as replicas of human skin. Each brass plate is designed with distinct
degree of roughness in order to evaluate the fluctuations in reflected THz signals. In 2-dimensional image, such variations manifests as noise. Statistical analysis was performed on the THz imaging signal from the various brass plate samples. The images were specially fitted in
a graphical manner in relation to the THz signal received by the imaging detector and the wavelength of the signal. Ultimately, the effect roughness of the surface in the collected THz image signals was characterized.
Objective

To characterize the effects of surface roughness in THz imaging
using targets polished with known roughness profile (15m, 36
m, 80 m, 265 m), and apply to remote sensing of biological
tissues.*
Motivation







Terahertz (THz) frequency (100GHz 10 THz, Tera = 10
12
)
has high sensitivity to water, and low light energy
Has a potential to become highly useful tool in medical imaging
to look at tissues hydration
In reflection THz sensing of tissues, scattering of THz waves
due to the roughness of skin needs to be understood

Tissue is highly inhomogeneous
May or may not have regular features of different sizes
Depends on condition, subjects, location, temperature, etc.

Goal: To see if roughness dominates the THz reflection
imaging system signal
THz Image Results
Polished with 36m Polished with 15m
Polished with 80m Polished with 265m
Evaluation
Electromagnetic waves scatters upon hitting an object or surface.
Waves hitting a random, rough surface will scatter to random
direction. Strength and directivity of reflected(scattered) waves
are affected by:

Property of the material (what we are interested in seeing)
Roughness of interface
Property of probing electromagnetic waves (THz radiation)
At THz region,
Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves
Transition from specular reflection to diffuse scattering. The surfaces are: (a) smooth,
(b) slightly rough, (3) moderately rough, (d) very rough.
Method of Analysis
Roughness
Many ways to define rough surface
Roughness may be measured and characterized by:
Surface height distribution
Statistical description of surface
Deviation from mean height
Correlation
A random surface with (a) large, (b) small correlation distance.
Conclusion
Brass plate polished with 15m sandpaper revealed minimal
signal variance (about 0.06V variation over the signal strength
of ~5V).
Brass plate polished with 36m sandpaper showed similar
SNR to that of 15 m, suggesting either the systems SNR is
limited around 53 dB, or roughness does not have heavy
impact until 36 m or higher.
Brass plate polished with 80m sandpaper is most similar to
that of smooth human skin. Signal
Brass plate polished with 265m sandpaper showed greatest
signal variation (as much as 0.25 V).
The degree of surface roughness on a sample is apparent in
THz signal variance revealed in the image past 80 um.
Future Work
Calibration of the THz imaging plane, for accurate
measurement of signal strength is difficult. Optical design of the
THz system remains an important task
Test our result against appropriate theoretical prediction, and
simulations of scattering from rough surface
Noise contribution of the electronics will be improved to provide
cleaner images.
Apply what we have observed in this experiment in clinical
images, and determine possible need to flatten the tissue
References
1.)Tchvialevaa, Lioudmila, et al. "Skin roughness assessment." (2010). 2.)COOK, THOMAS H., et al. "Quantification of the
skin's topography by skin profilometry." Itnl Journal of Cosmetic Science 3.)Zimnyakov, Dmitry A., et al. "Speckle pattern
statistics analysis in human skin structure investigations." Europto Biomedical Optics. 4.)Darvin, Maxim, et al. "Cutaneous
concentration of lycopene correlates significantly with the roughness of the skin." European Journal of Pharmaceutics and
Biopharmaceutics. 5.)Manuskiatti, W. D. A. H. I., D. A. Schwindt, and H. I. Maibach. "Influence of age, anatomic site and race on
skin roughness and scaliness. " Dermatology . 6.) Beckmann and Spizzinchino, et al. The Scattering of Electromagnetic
Waves from Rough Surfaces. (1969).Fielder etl, Texture Analysis of the Surface of the Human Skin, Skin Pharacol.
Look at the variations in signal in a 2-D THz image,
caused by surface roughness.
1. Polish a flat metallic surface with known roughness
2. Level the imaging target to imaging plane as close as
possible
3. Take THz images of target
4. Analyze variations in signal pixel-by-pixel

Signal to Noise Ratio by Polishing parameters
Polishing Parameters Signal-to-Noise Ratio (dB)
Height Deviation 10-40 um (Tchvialeva)
30 um (Cook)
>100 um (Ma; optically measured)
Correlation Length 80 um (Zimnyakov)
180 um in Psoriatic skin
Polishing Parameters Signal-to-Noise Ratio (dB)
15 m 54 dB
36 m 53dB
78 m 52 dB
265 m 44 dB
Estimate of Typical Roughness of Human Skin
Many ways to measure it:
Line Profiling
Areal Topography
Optical Measurements


Signal to Noise Ratio Evaluation
Visible THz Images
Polished with 265m Polished with 80m