Articular cartilage optical properties in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral range vary with depth and tissue integrity

Bilour Khan; Iman Kafian-Attari; Ervin Nippolainen; Rubina Shaikh; Dmitry Semenov; Markku Hauta-Kasari; Juha Töyräs; Isaac O Afara

doi:10.1364/BOE.430053

Articular cartilage optical properties in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral range vary with depth and tissue integrity

Biomed Opt Express. 2021 Sep 7;12(10):6066-6080. doi: 10.1364/BOE.430053. eCollection 2021 Oct 1.

Authors

Bilour Khan¹, Iman Kafian-Attari¹, Ervin Nippolainen¹, Rubina Shaikh¹, Dmitry Semenov², Markku Hauta-Kasari², Juha Töyräs^{1

3}, Isaac O Afara^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ University of Eastern Finland, Department of Applied Physics, Yliopistonranta 1, Kuopio, Finland, 70120, Finland.
² University of Eastern Finland, School of Computing, Lämsikatu 15, Joensuu, Finland, 80110, Finland.
³ The University of Queensland, School of Information Technology, and Electrical Engineering, St. Lucia, Australia, QLD 4072, Australia.

Abstract

Optical properties of biological tissues in the NIR spectral range have demonstrated significant potential for in vivo diagnostic applications and are critical parameters for modelling light interaction in biological tissues. This study aims to investigate the optical properties of articular cartilage as a function of tissue depth and integrity. The results suggest consistent wavelength-dependent variation in optical properties between cartilage depth-wise zones, as well as between healthy and degenerated tissue. Also, statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in both optical properties were observed between the different cartilage depth-wise zones and as a result of tissue degeneration. When taken into account, the outcome of this study could enable accurate modelling of light interaction in cartilage matrix and could provide useful diagnostic information on cartilage integrity.