Optical properties of normal and cancerous human skin in the visible and near-infrared spectral range
Open accessAbstract
Differences in absorption and/or scattering of cancerous and normal skin have the potential to provide a basis for noninvasive cancer detection. In this study, we have determined and compared the in vitro optical properties of human epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous fat with those of nonmelanoma skin cancers in the spectral range from 370 to 1600 nm. Fresh specimens of normal and cancerous human skin were obtained from surgeries. The samples were rinsed in saline solution and sectioned. Diffuse reflectance and total transmittance were measured using an integrating sphere spectrophotometer. Absorption and reduced scattering coefficients were calculated from the measured quantities using an inverse Monte Carlo technique. The differences between optical properties of each normal tissue-cancer pair were statistically analyzed. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the scattering of cancerous and healthy tissues in the spectral range from 1050 to 1400 nm. In this spectral region, the scattering of cancerous lesions is consistently lower than that of normal tissues, whereas absorption does not differ significantly, with the exception of nodular basal cell carcinomas (BCC). Nodular BCCs exhibit significantly lower absorption as compared to normal skin. Therefore, the spectral range between 1050 and 1400 nm appears to be optimal for nonmelanoma skin cancer detection.
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Scattering in the epidermis was shown to be higher than in the remaining layers across the spectrum tested.
“Scattering in the epidermis was shown to be higher than in the remaining layers across the spectrum tested.”
From Relevance and utility of the in-vivo and ex-vivo optical properties of the skin reported in the literature: a review [Invited] (2023) · cites this paper as [52]
Dermal and subcutaneous tissue scattering coefficients were similar across the spectrum measured, ranging from ∼4.5 mm-1 and ∼3.5 mm-1 at ∼500 nm to 1.7 mm-1 and ∼1.5 mm-1 at 1600 nm respectively.
“Dermal and subcutaneous tissue scattering coefficients were similar across the spectrum measured, ranging from ∼4.5 mm-1 and ∼3.5 mm-1 at ∼500 nm to 1.7 mm-1 and ∼1.5 mm-1 at 1600 nm respectively.”
From Relevance and utility of the in-vivo and ex-vivo optical properties of the skin reported in the literature: a review [Invited] (2023) · cites this paper as [52]
Reduced scattering coefficients decreased with increasing wavelength in all skin layers.
“Reduced scattering coefficients decreased with the increasing wavelength in all skin layers.”
From Relevance and utility of the in-vivo and ex-vivo optical properties of the skin reported in the literature: a review [Invited] (2023) · cites this paper as [52]
An increase of reduced scattering coefficient at 1450 nm in the region of strong water absorption was noted.
“An increase of reduced scattering coefficient at 1450 nm in the region of strong water absorption was noted.”
From Relevance and utility of the in-vivo and ex-vivo optical properties of the skin reported in the literature: a review [Invited] (2023) · cites this paper as [52]
In the epidermis, scattering decreased from ∼11 mm-1 at ∼360 nm to 2.3 mm-1 at 1600 nm.
“In the epidermis, scattering decreased from ∼11 mm-1 at ∼360 nm to 2.3 mm-1 at 1600 nm.”
From Relevance and utility of the in-vivo and ex-vivo optical properties of the skin reported in the literature: a review [Invited] (2023) · cites this paper as [52]
Minimal absorption was observed at 1100 nm for each skin layer.
“Minimal absorption was observed at 1100 nm for each skin layer.”
From Relevance and utility of the in-vivo and ex-vivo optical properties of the skin reported in the literature: a review [Invited] (2023) · cites this paper as [52]
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- Authors
- Salomatina, E. V., Jiang, B., Novak, J., & Yaroslavsky, A. N.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- ORCID
- Yaroslavsky, Anna N.
- Venue
- Journal of Biomedical Optics
- Publisher
- SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng
- Published
- 2006-11-01
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 06
- Pages
- 1-9
- ISSN
- 1083-3668 (ISSN-L)
- 1560-2281
- OpenAlex
- W2123477094
- Cited by
- 599
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 38 · 2015: 40 · 2014: 37 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 10.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Biomedical Optics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Spectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cutaneous Melanoma Detection and Management
- Keywords
- skin optical properties, non-melanoma skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma, diffuse reflectance, optical absorption, light scattering, reduced scattering coefficient, non-invasive cancer detection, epidermis, dermis, subcutaneous adipose tissue, near-infrared spectroscopy, inverse Monte Carlo
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Light, Skin, Skin Neoplasms, Spectrophotometry, Infrared, In Vitro Techniques
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