Intralipid: towards a diffusive reference standard for optical tissue phantoms.

Measurements of optical properties carried out at visible and NIR wavelengths on many samples of Intralipid 20% showed a high stability and surprisingly small batch-to-batch variations. Measurements have been carried out in a short time interval using samples from nine different batches with expiry dates spreading over ten years. For the specific reduced scattering coefficient, the values we have obtained, averaged over the nine batches, are 25.9, 21.2, and 18.4 mm(-1) at λ = 632.8, 751, and 833 nm, respectively, and the corresponding maximum deviations from the average were 2.2%, 1.1%, and 1.4%. For the absorption coefficient, we obtained values slightly smaller with respect to the absorption coefficient of pure water at 751 and 833 nm, and slightly larger at 632.8 nm. These results suggest that Intralipid 20% can be the first step towards a diffusive reference standard for tissue-simulating phantoms.