Open AccessTerahertz spectroscopy of human skin tissue models with different melanin content
Author(s) -
Xomalin G. Peralta,
Dawn Lipscomb,
Gerald J. Wilmink,
Ibtissam Echchgadda
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
biomedical optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.362
H-Index - 86
ISSN - 2156-7085
DOI - 10.1364/boe.10.002942
Subject(s) - terahertz radiation , human skin , attenuation coefficient , terahertz spectroscopy and technology , terahertz time domain spectroscopy , melanin , spectroscopy , materials science , refractive index , optics , absorption (acoustics) , optoelectronics , chemistry , biology , physics , biochemistry , genetics , quantum mechanics
Terahertz imaging has been proposed for burns and skin cancer identification. However, the role of melanocytes, melanosomes, melanin content and distribution in determining the terahertz optical properties of human skin has not been investigated. We use terahertz time domain spectroscopy to measure the optical properties of in vitro pigmented human skin tissue models from Asian, Black, and Caucasian donors. Spectra were collected at various time intervals and used to extract the absorption coefficient and index of refraction at terahertz frequencies. Our results indicate that the degree of cell differentiation and type of donor both contribute to the measured terahertz optical properties.