Peculiarities of propagation of quasi-diffraction-free light beams in strongly scattering absorbing media

Based on the relation between the theory of light field coherence and theory of radiation transfer in scattering media, a method is proposed for calculating the illumination distribution produced by coherent quasi-diffraction-free beams at different penetration depths of radiation into scattering media such as biological tissues. The method uses the optical transfer function or the point spread function (PSF) of the medium. A simple and convenient analytic PSF model is described. Examples of the illumination distribution produced by a Bessel light beam in a medium with optical parameters typical of real biological tissues are presented. It is shown that the half-width of the axial maximum of a Bessel light beam scattered due to scattering almost does not increase up to optical depths where the contribution of multiple scattering is already considerable.