The DOI matches its Crossref record; 118 of the 127 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Optical properties of human skin
Open accessAbstract
A survey of the literature is presented that provides an analysis of the optical properties of human skin, with particular regard to their applications in medicine. Included is a description of the primary interactions of light with skin and how these are commonly estimated using radiative transfer theory (RTT). This is followed by analysis of measured RTT coefficients available in the literature. Orders of magnitude differences are found within published absorption and reduced-scattering coefficients. Causes for these discrepancies are discussed in detail, including contrasts between data acquired in vitro and in vivo. An analysis of the phase functions applied in skin optics, along with the remaining optical coefficients (anisotropy factors and refractive indices) is also included. The survey concludes that further work in the field is necessary to establish a definitive range of realistic coefficients for clinically normal skin.
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“likely because darker skin contains more melanin which absorbs more green light than lighter skin.”
From Investigating sources of inaccuracy in wearable optical heart rate sensors (2020) · cites this paper as [28]
In the citing paper
“previous research demonstrated that inaccurate PPG HR measurements occur up to 15% more frequently in dark skin as compared to light skin”
From Investigating sources of inaccuracy in wearable optical heart rate sensors (2020) · cites this paper as [28]
Citations
Cites
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Diffuse radiation in the Galaxy
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A review of the optical properties of biological tissues
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Optical-Thermal Response of Laser-Irradiated Tissue
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In Vivo Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy of Human Skin: Melanin Provides Strong Contrast
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Optical-Thermal Response of Laser-Irradiated Tissue
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Sorted by citations
Ash, C., Dubec, M., Donne, K., & Bashford, T. (2017) · Lasers in Medical Science · doi:10.1007/s10103-017-2317-4 · Cited by 1,040
Investigating sources of inaccuracy in wearable optical heart rate sensors
Bent, B., Goldstein, B. A., Kibbe, W. A., & Dunn, J. P. (2020) · npj Digital Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41746-020-0226-6 · Cited by 673
Henderson, T. A., & Morries, L. D. (2015) · Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment · doi:10.2147/ndt.s78182 · Cited by 432
Soft wearable devices for deep-tissue sensing
Lin, M., Hu, H., Zhou, S., & Xu, S. H. (2022) · Nature Reviews Materials · doi:10.1038/s41578-022-00427-y · Cited by 367
Depth Penetration of Light into Skin as a Function of Wavelength from 200 to 1000 nm
Finlayson, L., Barnard, I. R. M., McMillan, L., Ibbotson, S. H., Brown, C. T. A., Eadie, E., & Wood, K. (2022) · Photochemistry and Photobiology · doi:10.1111/php.13550 · Cited by 302
Metadata
- Authors
- Lister, T., Wright, P. A., & Chappell, P. H.
- Affiliations
- Salisbury District Hospital (GB)
- University of Southampton (GB)
- ORCID
- Chappell, Paul H.
- Venue
- Journal of Biomedical Optics
- Publisher
- SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng
- Published
- 2012-09-24
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1-15
- ISSN
- 1083-3668 (ISSN-L)
- 1560-2281
- OpenAlex
- W2020476250
- Cited by
- 467
- References
- 127
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 51 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 2.75
- 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
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Optical Coherence Tomography Applications
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Spectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research
- Keywords
- human skin, optical properties, radiative transfer theory, optical absorption coefficient, reduced scattering coefficient, phase function, anisotropy parameter, refractive index
- MeSH terms
- Light, Models, Biological, Refractometry, Scattering, Radiation, Skin Physiological Phenomena
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