Contact pressure-aided spectroscopy.

Contact pressure induced by manually operated fiber optic probes can significantly affect the optical properties of the studied tissue. If the contact pressure and the changes in optical properties are measured properly, then the complementary information can be used to obtain additional insight into the tissue physiology. However, as reliable assessment of the contact pressure in the existing diffuse reflectance setups is difficult, the impact of contact pressure is usually neglected or considered as a source of errors. We introduce a measurement system for controlled application of contact pressure and for the acquisition of diffuse reflectance spectra, which is suitable for in vivo studies and for overcoming the limitations of the existing measurement setups. A spectral-contact-pressure plane is proposed to present the combined information, highlighting the unique tissue response to the applied pressure.