{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T04:33:39Z","timestamp":1760243619381,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,17]],"date-time":"2013-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1379376000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The polarization characteristics of birefringent tissues could be only partially obtained using linearly polarized light in polarization sensitive optical imaging. Here we analyze the change in polarization of backscattered light from birefringent structures versus the orientations of the incident polarizations using linearly, circularly and radially polarized light in a cross-polarized confocal microscope. A spatially variable retardation plate composed of eight sectors of \u03bb\/2 wave plates was used to transform linearly polarized light into a radially polarized light. Based on the experimental data obtained from ex-vivo measurements on human scalp hairs and in-vivo measurements on hair and skin, we exemplify that the underestimation of the birefringence content resulting from the orientation related effects associated with the use of linearly polarized light for imaging tissues containing wavy birefringent structures could be minimized by using radially polarized light.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s130912527","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,17]],"date-time":"2013-09-17T12:31:17Z","timestamp":1379421077000},"page":"12527-12535","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Quantitative Assessment of Birefringent Skin Structures in Scattered Light Confocal Imaging Using Radially Polarized Light"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Babu","family":"Varghese","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Care & Health Applications Group, Philips Research Europe, High Tech Campus 34, 5656AE Eindhoven, The Netherlands"}]},{"given":"Rieko","family":"Verhagen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Care & Health Applications Group, Philips Research Europe, High Tech Campus 34, 5656AE Eindhoven, The Netherlands"}]},{"given":"Altaf","family":"Hussain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Care & Health Applications Group, Philips Research Europe, High Tech Campus 34, 5656AE Eindhoven, The Netherlands"}]},{"given":"Clemence","family":"Boudot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Care & Health Applications Group, Philips Research Europe, High Tech Campus 34, 5656AE Eindhoven, The Netherlands"}]},{"given":"Qiangqiang","family":"Tai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Care & Health Applications Group, Philips Research Europe, High Tech Campus 34, 5656AE Eindhoven, The Netherlands"}]},{"given":"Siqi","family":"Ding","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Care & Health Applications Group, Philips Research Europe, High Tech Campus 34, 5656AE Eindhoven, The Netherlands"}]},{"given":"Jasmin","family":"Holz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Care & Health Applications Group, Philips Research Europe, High Tech Campus 34, 5656AE Eindhoven, The Netherlands"}]},{"given":"Natallia","family":"Uzunbajakava","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Care & Health Applications Group, Philips Research Europe, High Tech Campus 34, 5656AE Eindhoven, The Netherlands"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"359","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clindermatol.2003.08.007","article-title":"Changing paradigms in dermatology: Confocal microscopy in clinical and surgical dermatology","volume":"21","author":"Gonzalez","year":"2003","journal-title":"Clin. 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