Terahertz Spectroscopy of Blood Components

The terahertz spectrum of human blood components and untreated swine whole blood between 0.2-1.4 THz (7-47 cm) were determined through the use of differential time-domain spectroscopy (D-TDS) techniques, with water being used as a reference. It was found that whilst significant differences between blood components and water were found at low frequencies (below 0.8 THz (27 cm)) for human blood plasma and red blood cell solution, no significant difference was found at high frequencies, which, for plasma, agrees with results published earlier (Matei & Dressel 2003). For untreated swine whole blood, due to the formation of blood clots in the whole blood, it was found that spectra typical of that found in scattering processes that have been published in this frequency range have been found. However, due to the large experimental uncertainties in the work, and the uncertainly of the validity of the results, it is imperative that further work be conducted in order to obtain more reproducible and accurate results.