Comparative evaluation of two simple diffuse reflectance models for biological tissue applications.

We present a comparative evaluation of two simple diffuse reflectance models for biological tissue applications. One model is based on a widely accepted and used in biomedical optics implementation of diffusion theory, and the other one is based on a semiempirical approach derived from basic physical principles. We test the models on tissue phantoms and on human skin, utilizing a standard six-around-one optical fiber probe for light delivery and collection. We show that both models are suitable for use with an optical fiber probe and illustrate the potential, applicability, and validity range of the models.