Sized-Fiber Array Spectroscopy

Sized-fiber array spectroscopy describes a device and method for measuring absorption and reduced scattering properties of tissue. The device consists of two or more optical fibers with different diameters (comparable to the optical path length in the tissue) that are used to measure the amount of light backscattered into each fiber. Each fiber is used for both irradiation and detection. Only one fiber emits and collects light at a given time. This paper presents Monte Carlo simulations of the sized-fiber device to indicate the behavior of a device with 50 and 1000μm fiber sizes. Experimental results are presented for a device constructed with 400 and a 600μm fibers that demonstrate the accuracy of the device in measuring the scattering coefficient of 10%-Intralipid samples over a reduced scattering coefficient range of 1-50 cm−1.