Analysis of nonlinear relation for skin hemoglobin imaging

This paper discusses the accuracy of the optical determination of the oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin content of human skin under the influence of a melanin layer for a multi-wavelengths imager. The relation between the nonlinear results by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) and the modified Lambert Beer's law (MLB) is also clarified, emphasizing the importance of the absolute values of skin pigments and their influence on the mean path-length used in MLB. The fitting procedure of the MCS data to the actual skin spectra is shown to obtain the absolute values. It is also shown that once the proper mean path-lengths have been determined, MLB can be used fairly well within an accuracy of 80% compared with MCS. Images of oxygenated hemoglobin with a newly-developed four-wavelength camera are presented to demonstrate the advantages of a multiwavelength system. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.