ABSTRACT
Wavelength-dependent spectral measurements of elastically scattered light from tissue, performed in a manner that is sensitive to scattering and absorption properties, may be used to detect and diagnose tissue pathologies. Many tissue pathologies, including a majority of cancers, exhibit signicant architectural changes at the cellular and subcellular level. In making a diagnosis, pathologists determine some of these architectural changes by examining surgically removed samples called biopsies. Microscopic assessment, oen referred to as histopathology, is performed on the biopsy samples to determine cell and tissue architecture, including the sizes and shapes of cells, the ratio of nuclear to cellular volume, the form of the bilipid membrane, cell clustering patterns, etc. e properties of light elastically scattered in tissue also depend on architectural features. For example, the size of the structures in tissue responsible for the scattering of light determines how much more strongly a short wavelength, for example, blue light, is scattered than a long wavelength, for example, red light.
