THz Measurements: the Effects of Pressure on Skin Reflectivity

Overview

Journal Biomed Opt Express

Specialty Radiology

Date 2019 May 9

PMID 31065443

Citations 13

Authors

Jiarui Wang

Rayko I Stantchev

Qiushuo Sun

Tor-Wo Chiu

Anil T Ahuja

Emma Pickwell MacPherson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) light is non-ionizing and highly sensitive to subtle changes in water concentration which can be indicative of disease. The short THz penetration depth in bio-samples restricts measurements to be in a reflection geometry and the sample is often placed onto an imaging window. Upon contacting the imaging window, occlusion and compression of the skin affect the THz response. If not appropriately controlled, this could cause misleading results. In this work, we investigate and quantify how the applied pressure affects the THz response of skin and employ a stratified model to help understand the mechanisms at play. This work will enable future THz studies to have a more rigorous experimental protocol, which in turn will facilitate research in various potential biomedical applications under investigation.

Citing Articles

Towards autonomous robotic THz-based in vivo skin sensing: the PicoBot.

Dogra A, Jones D, Hernandez Serrano A, Chakraborty S, Young J, Page B Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):4568.

PMID: 39915605 PMC: 11803113. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-88718-6.

Variation of skin hydration profile with biophysical factors and lifestyle revealed by terahertz sensing.

Ding X, Hernandez-Serrano A, Young J, Pickwell-MacPherson E Biomed Opt Express. 2024; 15(9):5180-5198.

PMID: 39296403 PMC: 11407259. DOI: 10.1364/BOE.527731.

Quantitative evaluation of transdermal drug delivery patches on human skin with THz-TDS.

Ding X, Costa G, Hernandez-Serrano A, Stantchev R, Nurumbetov G, Haddleton D Biomed Opt Express. 2023; 14(3):1146-1158.

PMID: 36950242 PMC: 10026588. DOI: 10.1364/BOE.473097.

Measurement of tissue optical properties in a wide spectral range: a review [Invited].

Martins I, Silva H, Lazareva E, Chernomyrdin N, Zaytsev K, Oliveira L Biomed Opt Express. 2023; 14(1):249-298.

PMID: 36698664 PMC: 9841994. DOI: 10.1364/BOE.479320.

Monitoring the Effect of Transdermal Drug Delivery Patches on the Skin Using Terahertz Sensing.

Lindley-Hatcher H, Wang J, Hernandez-Serrano A, Hardwicke J, Nurumbetov G, Haddleton D Pharmaceutics. 2021; 13(12).

PMID: 34959334 PMC: 8706937. DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13122052.

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