United Kingdom Research and Innovation

The Science and Technology Facilities Council

Nicholas Stone

Pavel Matousek

Benjamin Gardner

Anthony William Parker

We disclose methods and apparatus for measuring pH in a sub-surface volume of a diffusely scattering sample. Probe light is directed to an entry region on the sample surface, and collected from a collection region on the sample surface following diffuse scattering within the sample. The collection region is spatially offset from the entry region, so that when one or more Raman spectral features are detected in the collected probe light, a pH of the sub-surface volume can be determined from the spectral features.

Detection of pH

The disclosure relates to a clinical thermometer for non-invasive measurement of sub-cutaneous temperature of tissue of a human or animal subject. Probe light is collected from a collection region spatially offset from an entry region on a visible surface of the subject, following scattering within the tissue, and a temperature of the tissue is determined from Raman spectral features in the collected light.

Clinical thermometer

Non invasive in-vivo measurement of composition of a tissue within a part of a human or animal subject is carried out by detecting a Raman spectral characteristic in light scattered through the part using a transmission, rather than a backscattering geometry. The technique is applied to the detection of calcifications in human breast tissues.

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Exeter, United Kingdom

Nicholas Stone