A dataset of visible - short wave infrared reflectance spectra collected on the dorsal and ventral aspect of arms.

Advancement of technology and device miniaturization have made near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) techniques cost-effective, small-sized, simple, and ready to use. We applied NIRS to analyze healthy human muscles in vivo, and we found that this technique produces reliable and reproducible spectral "fingerprints" of individual muscles, that can be successfully discriminated by chemometric predictive models. The dataset presented in this descriptor contains the reflectance spectra acquired in vivo from the ventral and dorsal aspects of the arm using an ASD FieldSpec® 4 Standard-Res field portable spectroradiometer (350-2500 nm), the values of the anthropometric variables measured in each subject, and the codes to assist access to the spectral data. The dataset can be used as a reference set of spectral signatures of "biceps" and "triceps" and for the development of automated methods of muscle detection.