Sensitivity exploratory analysis of the scalar wave P1/3 model to absorptive inclusions in biological media*

In this work, a sensitivity exploratory analysis of the Scalar Wave P_1/3 (SWAP1/3) model to the presence of absorptive inclusions in biological media is performed. Several numerical experiments with finite slab geometries containing absorptive inclusions are carried out with this purpose. For comparison, similar numerical experiments are conducted with the diffusion equation (DE). In all the cases, the SWAP_1/3 model showed a higher (and increasing) effect, compared to the DE, to increases in the inclusion absorption coefficient values. Hence, the SWAP_1/3 seems more appropriate than the DE to describe light propagation in the presence of inhomogeneities with higher absorption coefficients than the surrounding biological medium.