Experimental system for measuring the full scattering profile of cylindrical phantoms

Human tissue is one of the most complex optical media since it is turbid and nonhomogeneous. We suggest a new optical method for sensing physiological tissue state, based on the collection of the ejected light at all exit angles, to receive the full scattering profile. We built a unique set-up for noninvasive encircled measurement. We use a laser, a photodetector and tissues-like phantoms presenting different diameters and different reduced scattering coefficients. Our method reveals an isobaric point, which is independent of the optical properties and linearly depends on the exact tissue geometry. Furthermore, we present the angular distribution of cylindrical silicon based phantoms containing blood vessels in different diameters, in order to sense physiological tissue state. We show, for the first time, by simulation and experiments, that the vessel diameter influences on the full scattering profile. In addition, we found higher reflection intensity for larger vessel diameters, in accordance to the shielding effect. These findings can be useful for biomedical applications such as non-invasive and simple diagnostic of the fingertip joint, ear lobe and pinched tissues.