The propagation of optical radiation in tissue I. Models of radiation transport and their application

This paper is the first of two reviewing the propagation of electromagnetic radiation of wavelength 0.25–10μm in tissue. After a brief discussion of light/tissue interactions, a mathematical description of light propagation in terms of radiative transfer is developed. Formal solutions of the resulting equation are outlined, but the emphasis is on approximate method of solution—namely the discrete ordinates method, the technique of functional …