Spatially resolved light propagation in tissue-like media

Abstract

The work presented in this thesis is part of a larger project designed to monitor and diagnose Alzheimer's disease non-invasively in vivo using spatially resolved nearinfrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common forms of senile dementia occurring in the elderly population, and at present has no cure. The first step in developing a monitoring instrument involves differentiating the optical properties of tissue. In this body of work, a protocol and algorithm for deriving the scattering and absorption coefficients for a spatially resolved reflectance apparatus was developed, characterized, and tested. In models with tissue-like properties, this protocol and algorithm works to derive the appropriate scattering and absorption information, which is the first step in developing a spatially resolved NIR detection device.