Fabricating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) human dermal phantoms with tunable scattering across 900 to 1350  nm

This study presents a protocol for fabricating polydimethylsiloxane phantoms designed to mimic the optical scattering properties of human dermal tissue across the 900-1350 nm wavelength range. Titanium dioxide (<i>T</i><i>i</i><i>O</i>₂) was employed as a scattering agent to achieve tunable reduced scattering coefficients (<i>μ</i><i>s</i><i>'</i>). Concentration plots of <i>μ</i><i>s</i><i>'</i> versus <i>T</i><i>i</i><i>O</i>₂ displayed a linear relationship utilized to develop a predictive framework for the customized fabrication of phantoms by future research groups. Optical stability tests demonstrated <i>μ</i><i>s</i><i>'</i> stability over 31 days, though a decline was observed at higher <i>T</i><i>i</i><i>O</i>₂ concentrations. This work supports advancements in tissue-mimicking phantoms for optical device testing and validation and promotes approaches to clinical translation and experimental design.