Light scattering by a rough surface of human skin. 1. The luminance factor of reflected light

Based on the analytical solution of Maxwell's equations, we have studied the angular structure of the luminance factor of light reflected by the rough skin surface with large-scale relief elements, illuminated by a directed radiation beam incident at an arbitrary angle inside or outside the medium. The parameters of the surface inhomogeneities are typical of human skin. The calculated angular dependences are interpreted from the point of view of the angular distribution function of micro areas. The results obtained can be used for solving direct and inverse problems in biomedical optics, in particular for determining the depth of light penetration into a biological tissue, for studying the light action spectra on tissue chromophores under the in vivo conditions, for developing diagnostic methods of structural and biophysical parameters of a medium, and for optimising the mechanisms of interaction of light with biological tissues under their noninvasive irradiation through skin.