BlenderPhotonics: an integrated open-source software environment for three-dimensional meshing and photon simulations in complex tissues

SIGNIFICANCE: Rapid advances in biophotonics techniques require quantitative, model-based computational approaches to obtain functional and structural information from increasingly complex and multiscaled anatomies. The lack of efficient tools to accurately model tissue structures and subsequently perform quantitative multiphysics modeling greatly impedes the clinical translation of these modalities. AIM: Although the mesh-based Monte Carlo (MMC) method expands our capabilities in simulating complex tissues using tetrahedral meshes, the generation of such domains often requires specialized meshing tools, such as Iso2Mesh. Creating a simplified and intuitive interface for tissue anatomical modeling and optical simulations is essential toward making these advanced modeling techniques broadly accessible to the user community. APPROACH: We responded to the above challenge by combining the powerful, open-source three-dimensional (3D) modeling software, Blender, with state-of-the-art 3D mesh generation and MC simulation tools, utilizing the interactive graphical user interface in Blender as the front-end to allow users to create complex tissue mesh models and subsequently launch MMC light simulations. RESULTS: Here, we present a tutorial to our Python-based Blender add-on—BlenderPhotonics—to interface with Iso2Mesh and MMC, which allows users to create, configure and refine complex simulation domains and run hardware-accelerated 3D light simulations with only a few clicks. We provide a comprehensive introduction to this tool and walk readers through five examples, ranging from simple shapes to sophisticated realistic tissue models. CONCLUSIONS: BlenderPhotonics is user friendly and open source, and it leverages the vastly rich ecosystem of Blender. It wraps advanced modeling capabilities within an easy-to-use and interactive interface. The latest software can be downloaded at http://mcx.space/bp.