Abstract
As regular cervical cancer screening becomes more common, the detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is increasing. We proposed a noninvasive and low-cost multi-channel electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and probe with multiple active electrodes for screening CIN. Compared with four-electrode probes for impedance spectroscopy, the multiple active electrodes facilitated more flexible combination of current injection and voltage measurement, which allowed well-designed measurement protocols for focused sensitivity underneath the large size of the probe. Furthermore, the multiple active electrodes reduced the negative effects of the cabling between the system and probe inserted into the cervix. After presenting the basic performance, the EIS probe was tested by three different experimental phantoms using four different materials of electrical properties. The corresponding experimental results were presented to prove the functionality of the EIS probe and characterize the electrical properties at a wide range of frequencies from 0.625 to 100 kHz. It had high sensitivity underneath the surface of the probe and a rapidly decreased outer. Furthermore, we verified the frequency-dependent impedance changes using the giant vesicle phantoms with different amounts of extra- and intra-fluids separated by the insulating membranes. This study facilitates the feasibility into clinical practice for identifying CIN in the future.
Highlights
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women [1]
We found that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was decreased by about 11 dB and 16 dB when increasing the length of cable from 0 to 1.5 and 3 m using the same impedance measuring device
We proposed the multi-channel electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) system and probe with multiple active electrodes to screen cervical cancer using impedance spectroscopic measurement
Summary
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women [1] It is highly preventable with the early diagnosis and timely treatments of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), since cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer [2]. ThinPrep Cytologic Test (TCT) combined with the human papillomavirus (HPV) detection significantly improved the screening sensitivity and specificity for cervical cancers [4]. Many women suffer from cervical cancer and have no access to cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatments, attributed to the high cost and the lack of medical resources, especially in economically underdeveloped countries [1,2]. A cost-effective, high sensitivity, non-invasive, and real-time screening method for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, which is a precancerous stage of cervical cancer, is extraordinarily required
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