title: Use of a multiseparation fiber optic probe for the optical diagnosis of breast cancer.
abstract: We explore the effects of the illumination and collection geometry on optical spectroscopic diagnosis of breast cancer. Fluorescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the UV-visible spectral range are made with a multiseparation probe at three illumination-collection separations of 735, 980, and 1225 microm, respectively, from 13 malignant and 34 nonmalignant breast tissues. Statistical analysis is carried out on two types of data inputs: (1) the fluorescence and diffuse reflectance spectra recorded at each of the three illumination-collection separations and (2) the integrated fluorescence (at each excitation wavelength) or diffuse reflectance over the entire spectrum at all three illumination-collection separations. The results show that using the integrated fluorescence intensities recorded at a single excitation wavelength at all three illumination-collection separations can discriminate malignant from nonmalignant breast tissues with similar classification accuracy to that using spectral data measured at several excitation wavelengths with a single illumination-collection separation. These findings have significant implications with respect to the design of an optical system for breast cancer diagnosis. Examining the intensity attenuation at a single wavelength rather than spectral intensities at multiple wavelengths can significantly reduce the measurement and data processing time in a clinical setting as well as the cost and complexity of the optical system.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Changfang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Gregory M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: Tara M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Breslin
authors.forename: Fushen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Nirmala
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ramanujam
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D055100:Optical Fibers; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence