Tissue characterization with ballistic photons: counting scattering and/or absorption centres

Abstract We describe a new method to separate ballistic from the scattered photons for optical tissue characterization. It is based on the hypothesis that the scattered photons acquire a phase delay. The photons passing through the sample without scattering or absorption preserve their coherence so they may participate in interference. We implement a Mach−Zehnder experimental setup where the ballistic photons pass through the sample with the delay caused uniquely by the sample indices of refraction. We incorporate a movable mirror on the piezoelectric actuator in the sample arm to detect the amplitude of the modulation term. We present the theory that predicts the path−integrated (or total) concentration of the scattering and absorption centres. The proposed technique may characterize samples with transmission attenuation of ballistic photons by a factor of 10-14.

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