Diffuse reflection spectroscopy at the fingertip: design and performance of a compact side-firing probe for tissue discrimination during colorectal cancer surgery

Abstract

Optical technologies are widely used for tissue sensing purposes. However, maneuvering conventional probe designs with flat-tipped fibers in narrow spaces can be challenging, for instance during pelvic colorectal cancer surgery. In this study, a compact side-firing fiber probe was developed for tissue discrimination during colorectal cancer surgery using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The optical behavior was compared to flat-tipped fibers using both Monte Carlo simulations and experimental phantom measurements. The tissue classification performance was examined using freshly excised colorectal cancer specimens. Using the developed probe and classification algorithm, an accuracy of 0.92 was achieved for discriminating tumor tissue from healthy tissue.

Margin assessment during breast conserving surgery using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

“…All diffuse reflectance spectra were calibrated on a white reference object of spectralon in a similar manner as described in Refs. 56 and 58 . Therefore, any disparity between the light sources would be inconsequential.…”

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for colorectal cancer surgical guidance: towards real-time tissue characterization and new biomarkers

“…By incorporating DRS into a flexible fiber-optic probe that can be either passed down a laparoscope working channel, or used with robotic surgery instruments, DRS surgical guidance can potentially increase the accuracy of surgical procedures, improve rates of complete resection and thereby decrease colorectal cancer (CRC) recurrence and mortality. If a side-firing fiber-optic probe 31 can be directly integrated into the fingertip of a surgeon, open surgery could also be made more accurate.…”

Toward the use of diffuse reflection spectroscopy for intra-operative tissue discrimination during sarcoma surgery

“…It provides unique information about the tissue composition by illuminating the tissue with a broadband light source via an optical fiber, and subsequently measuring the reflectance spectrum after the light underwent multiple scattering and absorption interactions. Previous studies have successfully used DRS for tumor classification and surgical margin assessment in other cancer types, including breast, 27 – 29 colorectal, 30 – 32 head and neck, 33 and lung tumors. 34 In this study, we investigate the potential of DRS to distinguish tumor tissue from healthy tissue during sarcoma surgery.…”