Microscopic Origin of Light Scattering in Tissue
Abstract
A newly designed instrument, the static light-scattering (SLS) microscope, which combines light microscopy with SLS, enables us to characterize local light-scattering patterns of thin tissue sections. Each measurement is performed with an illumination beam of 70- µm diameter. On these length scales, tissue is not homogeneous. Both structural ordering and small heterogeneities contribute to the scattering signal. Raw SLS data consist of a two-dimensional intensity distribution map I ( ?, f), showing the dependence of the scattered intensity I on the scattering angle ? and the azimuthal angle f. In contrast to the majority of experiments and to simulations that consider only the scattering angle, we additionally perform an analysis of the azimuthal dependence I ( f). We estimate different contributions to the azimuthal scattering variation and show that a significant fraction of the azimuthal amplitude is the result of tissue structure. As a demonstration of the importance of the structure-dependent part of the azimuthal signal, we show that this function of the scattered light alone can be used to classify tissue types with surprisingly high specificity and sensitivity.
- Publication:
-
Applied Optics
- Pub Date:
- June 2003
- DOI:
- 10.1364/AO.42.002871
- Bibcode:
- 2003ApOpt..42.2871P