Effect of a diffractive grid applied to laryngeal images with squamous cell carcinoma tumor

Abstract

This work reports to the development of a metric system which is able to detect the glottic squamous cell carcinoma tumor and establish its position. It was observed that the images of the glottis, seen through an endoscope, are shaped according to their geometric characteristics and by shades of color and brightness. Thus, by superimposing the metric of a diffractive grid with light spots on images containing the glottic region, the position and attributes of the tumor can be quantified. Thus, by implement computer-aided diagnostic techniques, it is possible to extract features of the pathology, as well as minimize operational costs, compared to empirical experiments. To this end, this study was carried out by analyzing narrow-band endoscope sample images from 10 patients with squamous cell carcinoma-like tumor confirmed on medical diagnosis. The light spot array was generated by a diffractive optical element, designed by an iterative Fourier-transform method. Images segmentation was based on methods of image filtering as well as on active contour region. By employing a 3 x 3 spot array it was possible to obtain ' 97 % tumor detection. The proposed metric system can be considered a powerful tool in order to assist in the prognosis of laryngeal pathologies by detecting attributes and position of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tumor.