title: Application of circularly polarized light for non-invasive diagnosis of cancerous tissues and turbid tissue-like scattering media.
abstract: Polarization-based optical techniques have become increasingly popular in the field of biomedical diagnosis. In the current report we exploit the directional awareness of circularly and/or elliptically polarized light backscattered from turbid tissue-like scattering media. We apply circularly and elliptically polarized laser light which illuminates the samples of interest, and a standard optical polarimeter is used to observe the polarization state of light backscattered a few millimeters away from the point of incidence. We demonstrate that the Stokes vector of backscattered light depicted on a Poincaré sphere can be used to assess a turbid tissue-like scattering medium. By tracking the Stokes vector of the detected light on the Poincaré sphere, we investigate the utility of this approach for characterization of cancerous and non-cancerous tissue samples in vitro. The obtained results are discussed in the framework of a phenomenological model and the results of a polarization tracking Monte Carlo model, developed in house. Schematic illustration of the experimental approach utilizing circularly and elliptically polarized light for probing turbid tissue-like scattering media.
authors.affiliation: The Jack Dodd Centre for Quantum Technology, Department of Physics, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand; Medical Natural Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Pathology, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Britt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kunnen
authors.forename: Callum
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doronin
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacques
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eccles
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meglinski
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D008027:Light; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009391:Nephelometry and Turbidimetry; D055096:Optical Devices; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Poincarésphere; Stokes vector; angular momentum; cancer detection; circularly polarized light; multiple scattering; optical biopsy; tissue samples