Assessment of apple optical properties using the spatially resolved spectroscopy laser method

Determining the optical properties of a biological tissue is crucial for the application of light in the diagnosis and therapy fields, but also to classify the fruits and vegetables by their degree of ripeness. In the present work, the measurements were performed to determine the optical properties which include the absorption coefficient and reduced scattering coefficient (mu(')(s) and mu(a) respectively) in different areas of apple fruit to find the perfect area where measurement must be done on a curved surface, taking into account the anisotropy of the parenchyma cells of a radial section and mildewed areas in the apple. Three varieties of apples were studied (Golden Delicious, Royal Gala and the Queen of Pippin) and the optical properties were measured at the wavelength lambda=633 nm using the method of spatial resolution in a steady state. Findings show that optical properties differ depending on where the measurement of the optical properties was performed and on the variety of apples. It's found that the measurement must be done on the part of most planar to converge on the exact value of the optical properties. The spatial resolution technique provides an effective way to measure the optical properties of biological tissues, and is also useful for the assessment of quality attributes of the fruit.