Clinical measurements of tissue optical properties in the esophagus and in the oral cavity

A non-invasive probe has been devised and clinically used to perform in vivo measurements of the optical properties of the esophageal wall and oral cavity. The absorption and reduced scattering coefficients are determined from the observation of the spatial distribution of the diffuse reflectance at the tissue surface under a narrow beam illumination of the tissue. The determination of these two coefficients enables us to evaluate the value of the effective attenuation coefficient which is of major interest in the field of light dosimetry for photodynamic therapy (PDT). An invasive isotropic micro-probe has also been designed and clinically used to directly measure in vivo the value of the fluence rate in tissues. The principle of this probe is based on the fluorescence generated in a ruby sphere by the light which propagates in the tissue. This fluorescence which can be excited between 350 and 680 nm is isotropically emitted and in part collected by an optical fiber glued against the ruby sphere. Results, obtained with both probes at 514 and 630 nm, i.e., wavelengths of interest in photodynamic therapy, with actual clinically used photosensitizers are summarized and compared. The agreement obtained between these two techniques validates the principle of these measurements.