Characterization of tissue optical parameters in the region of 1-2 /spl mu/m

Abstract

The time-of-flight (TOF) method and the diffuse reflectance (DR) method were applied for the characterization of optical parameters in living tissue in the region of 1-2 /spl mu/m. The absorption coefficient obtained by the TOF method was consistent with the content of water in the tissue. The DR measurement indicates the very large attenuation in the wavelength region above 1.4 /spl mu/m. In this region, it is suggested that the optical transport does not diffuse well and it is localized at the light source.