Low-Coherence Reflectometry and Speckle Polarimetry in the Monitoring of Human Skin Pathologic Changes

We present the results of the study of normal and pathologic human skin using low-coherence reflectometry and speckle polarimetry. The statistical characteristics of local polarisation states in the individual coherence areas (speckles) of the forward scattered laser radiation demonstrate high sensitivity to the pathologic changes of the biotissue morphology in vitro. The analysis of the attenuation rate of the low-coherence reflectometer signal depending on the probing depth provides additional information for the identification of skin morphologic changes and the analysis of the effect of immersion agents on the biotissue optical properties.