Stokes parameters imaging of light reflected from biological tissue using polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography

Polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) was used to determine the depth resolved Stokes parameters of light backscattered from highly scattering biological samples. Through simultaneous detection of the amplitude and relative phase of signal fringes in orthogonal polarization states formed by interference of light backscattered from turbid media and a mirror in the reference arm of a Michelson interferometer, changes in the Stokes parameters due to the optical phase delay between light propagating along the fast and slow axes of birefringent media were measured. Inasmuch as fibrous structures in many biological tissues influence the polarization state of light backscattered, PS-OCT is a potentially useful technique to image the structural properties of turbid biological materials. The method can also be applied to the investigation of birefringent properties in highly scattering materials such as ceramics and crystals.