Wide-field Raman imaging of dental lesions

Abstract

Detection of dental caries at the onset remains as a great challenge in dentistry. Raman spectroscopy could be successfully applied towards detecting caries since it is sensitive to the amount of the Raman active mineral crystals, the most abundant component of enamel. Effective diagnosis requires full examination of a tooth surface via a Raman mapping. Point-scan Raman mapping is not clinically relevant (feasible) due to lengthy data acquisition time. In this work, a wide-field Raman imaging system was assembled based on a high-sensitivity 2D CCD camera for imaging the mineralization status of teeth with lesions. Wide-field images indicated some lesions to be hypomineralized and others to be hypermineralized. The observations of wide-field Raman imaging were in agreement with point-scan Raman mapping. Therefore, sound enamel and lesions can be discriminated by Raman imaging of the mineral content. In conclusion, wide-field Raman imaging is a potentially useful tool for visualization of dental lesions in the clinic.

Application of raman spectroscopy method to the diagnostics of caries development

“…2 one can see the intensity decrease of the line at 1069 cm -1 corresponding to the vibration ν 1 (СO 3 ) 2-due to the B-type substitutions where this group replaces PO 4 3-and possesses less hardness. Besides that, the spectra differ in the intensities of lines at 1241 cm -1 and 1660 cm -1 corresponding to amide III and amide I respectively.…”

“…In [4] examined changes in the enamel mineral substrate using the method of Raman spectroscopy, cutting is perpendicular to the cross section of the tooth. The authors of [4] compared the enamel caries regions with the healthy regions of the tooth at 960 and 880 cm -1 corresponding to (PO4) 3-and (СO3) 2-respectively, since at these peaks the difference between the healthy an caries tooth regions is clearly seen.…”

“…The authors of [4] compared the enamel caries regions with the healthy regions of the tooth at 960 and 880 cm -1 corresponding to (PO4) 3-and (СO3) 2-respectively, since at these peaks the difference between the healthy an caries tooth regions is clearly seen. It was also shown experimentally that the enamel contains high concentration of mineral components.…”

Raman spectroscopy: techniques and applications in the life sciences

“…Wide-field Raman imaging systems typically have better spatial resolution at the expense of some spectral resolution [159]. These systems have been used to image biological systems such as teeth [165] and whole fish [166] at speeds comparable to Raman line-scanning.…”

“…Another galvo-mirror (GM3) scans the signal from each position to its own row on the CCD. (e) Schematic for a wide-field Raman imaging system for detecting dental lesions by [165]. This system images the full field of view simultaneously.…”