Mueller matrix polarimetry has been applied to assist the diagnosis of several different types of diseases. The improvement of imaging resolution using objective with high numerical aperture (NA) is important for traditional optical microscope. However, imaging using a high NA objective entails a problem, namely, the field of view (FOV) is smaller and imaging speed is slower. Our previous work found that when using Mueller matrix microscope to obtain the structural features of tissue samples, some information of anisotropic structures, such as the density and orientation distribution of fibers can be revealed by polarization parameters images with relatively low resolution. In this study, we use objectives with different numerical aperture to measure the microscopic Mueller matrix of human healthy breast duct tissues and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) tissues, which have distinct typical fibrous structures. Then a group of image texture feature parameters of Mueller matrix derived parameters images under high and low imaging resolutions are quantitatively compared. The results demonstrate that with the decline of imaging resolution, the fibers density information contained in the texture features of linear retardance δ parameter image are preserved well. While for the azimuthal orientation parameter θ which is closely related to the spatial location, the high imaging resolution to obtain quantitative structural information is still needed. The study provides an important criterion to decide which information of fibrous structures can be extracted accurately using transmission Mueller matrix microscope with low numerical aperture objectives to assist diagnose clinically such as breast ductal carcinoma.
Water content of stratum corneum has one of the most important biological effects on the physiological function of the skin. Measuring and adjusting the water content can be helpful to understand the physiological state of skin and delay skin aging. However, most existing skin water content analyzers have to contact the skin and the results may be affected by personal usage habits prominently. Mueller matrix polarimetry is sensitive to structural features of tissues. Parameters derived from Mueller matrix can provide the microstructural information quantitatively, such as the sizes of scatterers, the distribution of collagen fibers and so on. In this study, we demonstrate a novel, quantitative, non-contact and in situ technique based on Mueller matrix polarimetry for monitoring the microstructural changes of skin tissues during the process of skin water content reduction. We measure the Mueller matrices of rat skin samples and porcine abdominal skin samples, then analyze the Mueller matrix derived parameters to indicate microstructural changes during the skin water content reduction processes. Comparison between the rat skin samples applied with and without moisturizing cream show that the Mueller matrix derived parameters are potential indicators to reflect the water content of the skin quantitatively. This technique can provide a non-contact detection method and be used to evaluate the change of skin water content when different skin-care cosmetics are used on the skin.
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