Main description:

This book presents a new diagnostic approach that utilizes complex statistical, correlation, fractal, and singular analysis of spatial distribution of the Stokes vector of scattered polarized light in different diffraction zones. The technique is able to identify changes in the distribution of optical axes and the birefringent indices of multi-layered fibrillar networks of biological tissues. The book also presents various scenarios for the formation of polarization singularities in laser speckle images of phase-inhomogeneous, multi-layered biological tissues in terms of the characteristic values of Mueller-matrix images. Moreover, in the context of potential diagnostic applications, it discusses the states of polarization singularities and their changes associated with the pathological abnormalities of the extracellular matrix of human tissues, its spatial peculiarities and structural orientation.

Contents:

Chapter 1. Modern methods utilizing coherent polarized light scattered in phase-inhomogeneous multi-layered tissue-like scattering medium: Stokes-polarimetric and singular approaches.

Chapter 2. Vector-parametric method of optical diagnostics of phase-inhomogeneous layers of biological tissues.

Chapter 3. Simulation of transformation of Stokes vector parameters by multilayered biological tissues.

Chapter 4. Stokes-polarimetry of object fields of birefringent optical anisotropic extracellular matrixes of human multilayered tissues.

Chapter 5. Singular approach to analysis of Stokes vector parameters of polarization-inhomogeneous fields of biological crystals nets.

Chapter 6. Topographic structure of Mueller-matrix images of polycrystalline birefringent networks.

Chapter 7. Summary and conclusions.