Variations in the Optical Scattering Properties of Skin in Murine Animal Models
TLDR Male mice have thicker skin, causing more light scattering than females.
The study investigated the optical scattering properties of mouse skin using Elastic Scattering Spectroscopy (ESS), focusing on sources of experimental error. It found that the thickness of the dermal layer, due to its high collagen content, was the primary source of variation. Gender differences in skin thickness led to a twofold increase in reflectance and scattering coefficient values in males compared to females. Additionally, changes in the hair growth cycle affected scattering strength due to variations in skin thickness and melanin accumulation in hair follicles. The research aimed to identify these variations to improve the accuracy of biomedical optics techniques.
