Visual perception enhancement for detection of cancerous oral tissue by multi-spectral imaging

Abstract

Color reproduction systems based on the multi-spectral imaging technique (MSI) for both directly estimating reflection spectra and direct visualization of oral tissues using various light sources are proposed. Images from three oral cancer patients were taken as the experimental samples, and spectral differences between pre-cancerous and normal oral mucosal tissues were calculated at three time points during 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) to analyze whether they were consistent with disease processes. To check the successful treatment of oral cancer with ALA-PDT, oral cavity images by swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) are demonstrated. This system can also reproduce images under different light sources. For pre-cancerous detection, the oral images after the second ALA-PDT are assigned as the target samples. By using RGB LEDs with various correlated color temperatures (CCTs) for color difference comparison, the light source with a CCT of about 4500 K was found to have the best ability to enhance the color difference between pre-cancerous and normal oral mucosal tissues in the oral cavity. Compared with the fluorescent lighting commonly used today, the color difference can be improved by 39.2% from 16.5270 to 23.0023. Hence, this light source and spectral analysis increase the efficiency of the medical diagnosis of oral cancer and aid patients in receiving early treatment.