Abstract

A procedure for retrieving the optical properties of a two-layered diffusive medium based on an exact analytical solution of the time dependent diffusion equation and on multidistance reflectance data is presented. The method overcomes some limitations of previously developed procedures. Five parameters have been always fitted: the absorption and the reduced scattering coefficient of both layers and the thickness of the first layer. The results obtained have shown that this procedure does not require an initial guess for the unknown optical parameters fitted, whilst the start value for the thickness of the first layer needs to be estimated within an error of about 50%. Time resolved measurements of diffuse reflectance have been generated with Monte Carlo simulations. A particular attention has been devoted to determine the optical properties of the muscle with the subcutaneous fat layer.

© 2003 SPIE