Terahertz spectroscopy of human skin tissue models with different melanin content

Terahertz imaging has been proposed for burns and skin cancer identification. However, the role of melanocytes, melanosomes, melanin content and distribution in determining the terahertz optical properties of human skin has not been investigated. We use terahertz time domain spectroscopy to measure...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBiomedical optics express Vol. 10; no. 6; pp. 2942 - 2955
Main Authors Peralta, Xomalin G, Lipscomb, Dawn, Wilmink, Gerald J, Echchgadda, Ibtissam
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Optical Society of America 01.06.2019
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Summary:Terahertz imaging has been proposed for burns and skin cancer identification. However, the role of melanocytes, melanosomes, melanin content and distribution in determining the terahertz optical properties of human skin has not been investigated. We use terahertz time domain spectroscopy to measure the optical properties of pigmented human skin tissue models from Asian, Black, and Caucasian donors. Spectra were collected at various time intervals and used to extract the absorption coefficient and index of refraction at terahertz frequencies. Our results indicate that the degree of cell differentiation and type of donor both contribute to the measured terahertz optical properties.
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ISSN:2156-7085
2156-7085
DOI:10.1364/BOE.10.002942