Unambiguous derivation of the effective refractive index of biological suspensions and an extension to dense tissue such as blood.The van de Hulst formula provides an expression for the effective refractive index or effective propagation constant of a suspension of particles of arbitrary shape, size, and refractive index in an optically homogeneous medium.  We present a derivation of the van de Hulst formula valid for suspensions of large, tenuous scatterers-the type biological suspensions are typically made of-that does not rely on these conditions, showing that they are not strictly necessary for the formula to be valid.  We finally provide a simple way to estimate-and, more importantly, correct-the error incurred by the van de Hulst formula when this condition is not met.
van de Hulst
Unambiguous derivation of the effective refractive index of biological suspensions and an extension to dense tissue such as blood.The van de Hulst formula provides an expression for the effective refractive index or effective propagation constant of a suspension of particles of arbitrary shape, size, and refractive index in an optically homogeneous medium.  We present a derivation of the van de Hulst formula valid for suspensions of large, tenuous scatterers-the type biological suspensions are typically made of-that does not rely on these conditions, showing that they are not strictly necessary for the formula to be valid.  We finally provide a simple way to estimate-and, more importantly, correct-the error incurred by the van de Hulst formula when this condition is not met.
van de Hulst