Multimodal snapshot spectral imaging for oral cancer diagnostics: a pilot study

Noah Bedard,Vijayashree Bhattar,Aaron Hu,Michelle D Williams,Richard A Schwarz,Rebecca Richards-Kortum,Ann M Gillenwater,Jana Howe,Tomasz S Tkaczyk

doi:10.1364/boe.4.000938

Abstract

Optical imaging and spectroscopy have emerged as effective tools for detecting malignant changes associated with oral cancer. While clinical studies have demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for detection, current devices either interrogate a small region or can have reduced performance for some benign lesions. We describe a snapshot imaging spectrometer that combines the large field-of-view of widefield imaging with the diagnostic strength of spectroscopy. The portable device can stream RGB images at 7.2 frames per second and record both autofluorescence and reflectance spectral datacubes in < 1 second. We report initial data from normal volunteers and oral cancer patients.

Highlights

Oral cancer is a significant global health problem
The imaging spectrometer was thoroughly characterized for other applications [23], the modified device was further evaluated for spatial resolution, color balance, excitation light rejection, and recording speed
Rejection of excitation light was verified with a quartz disc, which showed less than 1:10 fluorescence ratio compared to the autofluorescence of normal tissue

Summary

Introduction

Oral cancer is a significant global health problem. In the US alone, around 40,000 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer and 8,000 will die from the disease this year [1,2]. More than one third of individuals diagnosed with oral cancer will die within five years, because it is typically discovered in a later stage when treatment is less effective. These numbers have not improved for decades. The standard screening practice for oral cancer is visual inspection and palpation During this procedure, clinicians check for abnormal lesions such as leukoplakia and erythroplakia, which appear as white and red patches in the oral cavity [3]. Biopsies take time to process and examine, adding to patient stress and prolonging the time to diagnosis. When a biopsy is obtained, the small tissue region being sampled may not represent the highest pathological grade of a heterogeneous tumor [4]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion