Real time optical coefficients evaluation from time and space resolved reflectance measurements in biological tissues

Quantitative and accurate determination of turbid media optical coefficients was achieved using time and space resolved measurements of diffuse backscattered light. The global analysis of the reflectance map registered on a streak camera was based on the diffusion approximation. This fast and practical method was tested on suspensions of latex microspheres in water, and the results were in good agreement with the Mie theory. Experiments were then performed on biological tissues. The total time required for the determination of the optical coefficients of a sample, essentially limited by the instrument integration time, consisted of a few seconds.