Discriminating turbid media by scatterer size and scattering coefficient using backscattered linearly and circularly polarized light.
Michael D SinghI Alex VitkinPublished in: Biomedical optics express (2021)
The effects of scatterer size and scattering coefficient on backscattered linearly and circularly polarized light are investigated through Stokes polarimetry. High-SNR polarization modulation/synchronous detection measurements are corroborated by polarization-sensitive Monte Carlo simulations. Circular degree of polarization (DOP) is found to be sensitive to scatterer size, but is equivocal at times due to helicity flipping effects; linear DOP appears to be mostly dependent on the medium scattering coefficient. We exploit these trends to generate a DOPC - DOPL response surface which clusters turbid samples based on these medium properties. This work may prove useful in biomedicine, for example in noninvasive assessment of epithelial precancer progression.