Imaging superficial tissue layers using polarized light with a hand-held camera

A hand-held polarized light camera yields an image whose contrast is based on photons scattered from the superficial subsurface region of tissues. The general approach toward polarized light imaging is presented, discussing the Stokes Vector description of polarized light and the Mueller Matrix description of the scattering process. The simple approach of the hand-held camera is presented with a first clinical image of melanoma.