Patent 7440659 was granted and assigned to Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation on October, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A reflectance instrument illuminates the surface of tissue with light of a selected wavelength and light emanating from the tissue due to reflectance is collected. The angle of illumination of tissue surface and/or collection of reflections is changed to probe at various depths beneath the surface of the tissue. The reflectance instrument may be used in a method for measuring the optical properties of a two layer diffuse media such as epithelial tissues.