Determination of the depth-resolved Stokes parameters of light backscattered from turbid media by use of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) was used to ch aracterize completely the polarization state of light backscattered from tu rbid media. Using a low-coherence light source, one can determine the Stoke s parameters of backscattered light as a function of optical path in turbid media. To demonstrate the application of this technique we determined the birefringence and the optical axis in fibrous tissue (rodent muscle) and in vivo rodent skin. PS-OCT has potentially useful applications in biomedical optics by imaging simultaneously the structural properties of turbid biolo gical materials and their effects on the polarization state of backscattere d light. This method may also find applications in material science for inv estigation of polarization properties (e.g., birefringence) in opaque media such as ceramics and crystals. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America.