Computing light scattering spectrum of microparticles toward disease diagnosis

We calculated the light scattering spectrum of microparticles using the Maxwell's equation and the Mie theory. The calculation was compared to the experimental measurement of spherical polystyrene particles with a diameter of 7.9μ m, whose physical properties were well characterized. This size was chosen since it was representative of typical red blood cells. The experimental results and numerical calculations match each other, suggesting the possibility of using light scattering and spectrum analysis to detect the state of microparticles. The approach may be used as a non-invasive tool to diagnose diseases such as malaria by detecting red blood cells infected with malaria parasites.