Premium
Stokes polarimetry imaging of rat‐tail tissue in a turbid medium using incident circularly polarized light
Author(s) -
Wu Paul J.,
Walsh, Joseph T.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/lsm.20242
Subject(s) - polarimetry , optics , circular polarization , birefringence , linear polarization , stokes parameters , polarization (electrochemistry) , physics , degree of polarization , anisotropy , ray , materials science , scattering , chemistry , laser , microstrip
Background and Objectives We describe a Stokes polarimetry imaging technique that quantifies the polarization properties of remitted light backscattered from a sample. Study Design/Materials and Methods Right‐ and left‐circularly polarized near‐infrared light was used to illuminate rat‐tail tissue embedded in turbid gelatin. Results The degree of linear polarization (DoLP) and degree of circular polarization (DoCP) image‐maps indicate that increasing the depth of the rat tail within the turbid medium and varying the rat‐tail geometry and orientation relative to the light source affected the contrast between structures and adjacent tissue layers. Conclusion Stokes polarimetry imaging shows that the intervertebral discs and soft tissue regions of rat tails strongly depolarize incident circularly polarized light. Tendon regions remit light with a more linear form due to birefringence. Both DoLP and DoCP image‐maps provide contrast between tissue structures. When differentiating between unpolarized light and light with low DoCP or DoLP, the polarization of backscattered light from the turbid medium must to be taken into consideration. Lasers Surg. Med. 37:396–406, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.