Oxygen Saturation-Dependent Absorption and Scattering of Blood

We report on the scattering properties of oxygenated and deoxygenated whole blood from 250 to 1000 nm. We determine the complex refractive index of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin using a Kramers-Kronig analysis and optical coherence tomography measurements. Combining these data with Mie theory, the scattering properties are calculated. The strong oxygen saturation dependent scattering effects should be taken into account in the data analysis of optical oxymetry.

Figure 1

Real part of the complex refractive index of ${\mathrm{H}\mathrm{b}\mathrm{O}}_2$ and Hb obtained from a subtractive KK analysis of the data of Ref. 4.

Figure 2

Scattering coefficient vs wavelength of oxygenated and deoxygenated whole blood computed by Mie theory using the calculated complex refractive indices.

Figure 3

Anisotropy factor vs wavelength of an oxygenated and deoxygenated RBC computed by Mie theory using the calculated complex refractive indices.

Figure 4

Absorption coefficient vs wavelength of oxygenated and deoxygenated whole blood. Gray curves: data from Ref. 4. Black curves: Mie calculations.