Coherence and polarization of light propagating through scattering media and biological tissues.

The degree of polarization of light propagating through scattering media was measured as a function of the sample thickness in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer at a wavelength of lambda = 633 nm. For polystyrene microspheres of diameters 200, 430, and 940 nm, depolarization began to appear for thicknesses larger than 23, 19, and 15 scattering mean free paths (SMFP's), respectively, where the coherently detected scattered component dominates the ballistic component. For large particles (940 nm) the initial polarization survived partially in the scattering regime and progressively vanished up to the detection limit of our setup. This phenomenon was similarly observed in diluted blood from 12.5 to 280 SMFP's. Beyond this thickness the fluctuating parallel and crossed components of polarization became random. A dual-channel interferometer allowed us to detect simultaneously the low-frequency fluctuations of both polarized components through a few millimeters in liver tissue.

[1]  John,et al.  Diffusing-wave spectroscopy and multiple scattering of light in correlated random media. , 1989, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[2]  Stefan Andersson-Engels,et al.  Time-resolved transillumination for medical diagnostics , 1991, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[3]  B E Bouma,et al.  Self-phase-modulated Kerr-lens mode-locked Cr:forsterite laser source for optical coherence tomography. , 1996, Optics letters.

[4]  A. P. Shepherd,et al.  Comparison of Mie theory and the light scattering of red blood cells. , 1988, Applied optics.

[5]  A Ishimaru,et al.  Transmission, backscattering, and depolarization of waves in randomly distributed spherical particles. , 1982, Applied optics.

[6]  Bernard Gelebart,et al.  Phase function simulation in tissue phantoms: a fractal approach , 1996 .

[7]  F. Jöbsis.  Noninvasive, infrared monitoring of cerebral and myocardial oxygen sufficiency and circulatory parameters. , 1977, Science.

[8]  B E Bouma,et al.  Forward-imaging instruments for optical coherence tomography. , 1997, Optics letters.

[9]  Optical intensity fluctuations in multiply scattering media , 1991 .

[10]  F. Bretenaker,et al.  Rotating polarization imaging in turbid media. , 1996, Optics letters.

[11]  A H Hielscher,et al.  Influence of particle size and concentration on the diffuse backscattering of polarized light from tissue phantoms and biological cell suspensions. , 1997, Applied optics.

[12]  S L Jacques,et al.  Optical properties of rat liver between 350 and 2200 nm. , 1989, Applied optics.

[13]  J M Schmitt,et al.  Turbulent nature of refractive-index variations in biological tissue. , 1996, Optics letters.

[14]  E A Swanson,et al.  Femtosecond transillumination tomography in thick tissues. , 1993, Optics letters.

[15]  R R Alfano,et al.  Fourier spatial filter acts as a temporal gate for light propagating through a turbid medium. , 1995, Optics letters.

[16]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomography , 1991 .

[17]  E. Leith,et al.  Ensemble-averaged imaging through highly scattering media. , 1996, Optics letters.

[18]  T. Kitai,et al.  Contribution of the mitochondrial compartment to the optical properties of the rat liver: a theoretical and practical approach. , 1994, Biophysical journal.

[19]  S. Suzuki,et al.  The Neonate Brain (NIR) and Breast Imaging Using Transillumination , 1989 .

[20]  K Wada,et al.  Extraction of quasi-straightforward-propagating photons from diffused light transmitting through a scattering medium by polarization modulation. , 1995, Optics letters.

[21]  M Kempe,et al.  Scanning microscopy through thick layers based on linear correlation. , 1994, Optics letters.

[22]  Schmitt,et al.  Depolarization of multiply scattered waves by spherical diffusers: Influence of the size parameter. , 1994, Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics.

[23]  J G Fujimoto,et al.  High-resolution optical coherence tomographic imaging using a mode-locked Ti:Al(2)O(3) laser source. , 1995, Optics letters.

[24]  J. P. Lefebvre,et al.  Optical Processing Of Images Obtained By Transillumination Of Heterogeneous Scattering And Absorbing Media , 1989, Other Conferences.

[25]  G Jarry,et al.  In vivo transillumination of the hand using near infrared laser pulses and differential spectroscopy. , 1989, Journal of biomedical engineering.

[26]  R R Alfano,et al.  Temporal gating in highly scattering media by the degree of optical polarization. , 1996, Optics letters.

[27]  S. Morgan,et al.  Effects of polarization state and scatterer concentration on optical imaging through scattering media. , 1997, Applied optics.

[28]  H. V. Hulst.  Light Scattering by Small Particles , 1957 .

[29]  H. Inaba,et al.  Coherence gating in optical heterodyne detection measurements of scattering and absorption in highly scattering media , 1996 .

[30]  G. Jarry,et al.  Heterodyne detection for measuring extinction coefficient in mammalian tissue , 1993 .

[31]  J. Hovenier,et al.  Depolarization of light backscattered by randomly oriented nonspherical particles. , 1995, Optics letters.

[32]  J. Maarek,et al.  Imaging mammalian tissues and organs using laser collimated transillumination. , 1984, Journal of biomedical engineering.

[33]  C. Brosseau,et al.  Multiply scattered waves through a spatially random medium : entropy production and depolarization , 1992 .

[34]  G. Ripandelli,et al.  Optical coherence tomography. , 1998, Seminars in ophthalmology.

[35]  G. Jarry,et al.  Coherent components of forward light propagation through scattering mediaComposantes cohrentes de l , 1997 .

[36]  Zhu,et al.  Polarization memory of multiply scattered light. , 1989, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[37]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Femtosecond transillumination optical coherence tomography. , 1993, Optics letters.

[38]  Xingde Li,et al.  Diffraction tomography for biochemical imaging with diffuse-photon density waves. , 1997, Optics letters.

[39]  J. D. Briers,et al.  Speckle fluctuations and biomedical optics: implications and applications , 1993 .

[40]  A E Profio,et al.  Scientific basis of breast diaphanography. , 1989, Medical physics.

[41]  Takao Akatsuka,et al.  Recent advances in coherent detection imaging (CDI) in biomedicine: laser tomography of human tissues in vivo and in vitro , 1996 .

[42]  A. Sappey,et al.  Optical imaging through turbid media with a degenerate four wave mixing correlation time gate. , 1994, Applied optics.

[43]  M S Patterson,et al.  Total attenuation coefficients and scattering phase functions of tissues and phantom materials at 633 nm. , 1987, Medical physics.

[44]  J M Schmitt,et al.  Multiple scattering in optical coherence microscopy. , 1995, Applied optics.

[45]  J M Schmitt,et al.  Subsurface imaging of living skin with optical coherence microscopy. , 1995, Dermatology.

[46]  J. Schmitt,et al.  Use of polarized light to discriminate short-path photons in a multiply scattering medium. , 1992, Applied optics.

[47]  H. J. Schnorrenberg,et al.  The attenuation of a coherent field by scattering , 1995 .

[48]  R R Alfano,et al.  Ultrafast time-gated imaging in thick tissues: a step toward optical mammography. , 1993, Optics letters.

[49]  G. Jarry,et al.  Extinction measurements in diffusing mammalian tissue with heterodyne detection and a titanium:sapphire laser. , 1995, Applied optics.

[50]  Yasuo Kuga,et al.  Attenuation constant of a coherent field in a dense distribution of particles , 1982 .

[51]  Theodor W. Hänsch,et al.  A compact grating-stabilized diode laser system for atomic physics , 1995 .

[52]  R Marchesini,et al.  Extinction and absorption coefficients and scattering phase functions of human tissues in vitro. , 1989, Applied optics.

[53]  A. Fercher,et al.  Eye-length measurement by interferometry with partially coherent light. , 1988, Optics letters.