Abstract

The optical properties (absorption and transport scattering) of biological tissues (arm, abdomen, and forehead) were determined in vivo from 610 to 1010 nm by a fully automated system for time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy, based on a synchronously pumped dye laser (610-695 nm) and an actively mode-locked Titanium.Sapphire laser (700-1010 nm) as light sources and on time-correlated single photon counting for die detection. The scattering decreases progressively upon increasing wavelength, while the absorption line shapes show the typical spectral features of the principal tissue components (hemoglobin, water, and lipids), with different weight depending on the tissue type. The best fit of the absorption spectra with the spectra of the pure constituents and of the transport scattering spectra to Mie theory provided information on the percentage composition of the different tissues and on the internal tissue, respectively.

© 2000 Optical Society of America