WARF TECHNOLOGIES

Phsyicians often use microscopic visual inspection followed by biopsy to detect cancer; however, this method is limited in many ways. Optical techniques are a promising alternative that allows clinicians to quickly and nondestructively measure properties of tissue layers in vivo that are associated with pre-cancer and cancer.

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy involves illuminating surfaces and measuring diffusely scattered light from the same surface. It has been shown that absorption and scattering in pre-cancerous and cancerous tissues vary with depth and differ from those of healthy tissues. However, current methods of analyzing scattered light function only in one-layered tissue and are not appropriate for squamous epithelial tissues, which have a multi-layered structure.

UW-Madison researchers have developed an improved reflectance instrument and method to collect and analyze optical information from a pre-cancerous or cancerous target in a turbid medium, such as epithelial tissue. The instrument uses a smart fiber-optic probe to deliver a selected wavelength of light to tissue and sense the reflected light from specific layers. Altering the angles of illumination and detection relative to the tissue surface and the source-detector separation allows the clinician to probe at various depths beneath the surface of the tissue. Specially designed modeling for two-layered tissue enables the user to extract information from each individual layer for diagnosis.

• Cancer detection

• Adaptable to current endoscopic optical imaging systems without significantly increasing complexity or cost
• Reduces the need for biopsy
• Non-invasive, i.e., does not physically damage tissue or biological molecules
• Allows user to probe at varying depths within the tissue
• Enables rapid, non-invasive examination of human tissues
• More easily detects tissue properties already accepted for pre-cancer diagnosis

Related Technologies

• See WARF reference number P02039US for a depth-resolved instrument that uses fluorescence, rather than light scattering, to examine tissue.

Tech Fields

• Medical Devices : Diagnostics & monitoring tools
• Medical Imaging : Other diagnostic imaging