Stokes scattering matrix for human skin

Abstract

We use a layered model of normal human skin based on size distributions of polydisperse spherical particles and their complex refractive indices to compute the Stokes scattering matrix at wavelengths in the visible spectral band. The elements of the Stokes scattering matrix are required in a polarized radiative transfer code for a coupled air-tissue system to compute the polarized reflectance and examine how it is dependent on the vertical structure of the inherent optical properties of skin, including the phase matrix. Thus, the elements of the Stokes scattering matrix can be useful for investigating polarization-dependent light propagation in turbid optical media, such as human skin tissue.