Photothermal determination of optical coefficients of tissue phantoms using an optical fibre probe.

The absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of turbid tissue phantoms have been determined from photothermal measurements made using an optical fibre probe. The thermal sensor was a thin polymer film positioned at the end of a multimode optical fibre. The film was illuminated by the output of a continuous-wave diode laser and formed the cavity of a low-finesse Fabry-Perot interferometer. Low energy laser pulses, launched into the fibre and passed through the film, produced an abrupt temperature rise in the target tissue, which was placed in contact with the film. The subsequent conduction of heat into the film caused a change in its optical thickness and hence the reflected intensity. The absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of gelatine tissue phantoms of known optical properties were determined from the measurements using a numerical model of photothermal signal generation and maximum a posteriori estimation. The determined optical coefficients were in good agreement with the known values. The results showed that the probe can be used for the determination of optical coefficients provided the thermal coefficients of the target tissue are known with low uncertainty.