title: The effects of repeated spectroscopic pressure measurements on fluorescence intensity in the cervix.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Fluorescence spectroscopy is a promising technology for the detection of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs). In this study we took repeated measures in the cervix to determine whether the order of measurement produces changes in fluorescence intensity and whether there are differences in variation due to pressure.
  
  
  METHODS
  A pressure sensitive fiber-optic probe to measure fluorescence spectra was calibrated at light, medium, and firm levels (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 N). Measurements were made 3 times at each of 2 sites in the patient's cervix. Spectroscopic data were preprocessed and analyzed to compare order of pressure and intensity variability as a function of pressure on measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four providers took 3 measurements from 2 sites each in 18 patients, yielding 108 measurements. After corrections for multiple comparisons, neither the order of probe pressure nor the variability of probe pressure significantly affected variations in fluorescence intensity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that the probe pressure variability is probably not an issue for these devices.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biostatistics and Applied Mathematics, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Tex, USA.
authors.forename: Kelley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rivoire
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nath
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: E Neely
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Richards-Kortum
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Follen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011312:Pressure; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology