Measurement of absorption and scattering spectra of chicken breast with oblique incidence reflectometry

Oblique incidence relfectometry is a simple and accurate method for measuring the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of turbid media. We used this technique to deduce absorption and reduced scattering spectra from wavelength resolved measurements of the relative diffuse reflectance profile of white light. In this study we measured the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of chicken breast in the visible with the oblique incidence probe oriented at 0, 30, 60, and 90 degrees relative to the muscle fibers. We found that the reconstructed optical properties varied with probe orientation. This experiment demonstrates (1) the application of oblique-incidence fiber- optic reflectometry to measurements on biological tissue and (2) the effect of structural anisotropy on optical properties.