Influence of human epidermal thickness on penetration depth of detected photons in spatially-resolved diffuse reflectance spectroscopy: a numerical study

In the context of cutaneous carcinoma in vivo diagnosis, Diffuse Relectance (DR) acquired using Spatially Resolved (SR) optical biopsy, can be analysed to discard healthy from pathological areas. Indeed, carcinogenesis induces local morphological and metabolic changes affecting the skin optical answer to white light excitation. The present contribution aims at studying the epidermis thickness impact on the path and propagation depth distribution of DR photons in skin in the perspective of analyzing how these photons contribute to the corresponding acquired spectra carrying local physiological information from the visited layers. Modified CudaMCML-based simulations were performed on a five-layer human skin optical model using (i) wavelength-resolved scattering and absorption properties and (ii) the geometrical configuration of a multi-optical fiber probe implemented on a SR-DR spectroscopic device currently used in clinics. Through maps of scattering events and histograms of maximum probed depth, we provide numerical evidences linking the characteristic penetration depth of the detected photons to their wavelengths and four source-sensor distances for thin, intermediate and wide skin thicknesses model. The study provides qualitative and quantitative tools that can be useful during the design of an optical SR-DR spectroscopy biopsy device.