Effects of compression on human skin optical properties

Tissue optical properties are necessary parameters for prescribing light dosimetry in photomedicine. In many diagnostic or therapeutic applications where optical fiber probes are used, pressure is often applied to the tissue to reduce index mismatch and increase light transmittance. In this study, we have measured in vitro optical properties as a function of pressure with a visible-IR spectrophotometer. A spectral range of 400-1800 nm with a spectral resolution of 5 nm was used for all measurements. Skin specimens of two Hispanic donor and three Caucasian donors were obtained from the tissue bank. Each specimen, sandwiched between microscope slides, was compressed by a spring-loaded apparatus. Then diffuse reflectance and transmittance of each sample were measured at no load and at approximately 0.1 and 1 kgf/cm². Under compression, tissue thicknesses were reduced up to 78%. Generally, reflectance decreased while the overall transmittance increased under compression. The absorption and reduced scattering coefficients were calculated using the Inverse Adding Doubling Method. Compared with the no-load controls, there was an increase in the absorption and scattering coefficients among most of the compressed specimens.