title: Rapid identification of anterior and posterior root of cauda equina nerves by near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.
abstract: A new rapid chemometric method has been developed to identify the anterior and posterior roots of cauda equina nerves by near-infrared (NIR) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. NIR spectra of nerves were measured using a Fourier transform NIR spectrometer equipped with a fiber-optic probe. The result revealed no observable difference in the spectra between the anterior and posterior root samples, but the two roots could be identified by cluster analysis based on the differences of their spectral features. The overall accuracy of the cluster analysis model was 87.5%, and the accuracy for the actual anterior root and actual posterior root were 95% and 80%, respectively. The result suggested that NIR spectroscopy in combination with the chemometrics method (cluster analysis) could be used to classify the anterior and posterior roots of cauda equina nerves. The proposed method required only a few minutes, while classical methods commonly required at least one hour. It was demonstrated that the new method could provide a rapid, correct, nondestructive and low-cost potential means to quickly differentiate anterior and posterior roots in mixed cauda equina nerves, which would be helpful for surgeons to align nerve stumps correctly.
authors.affiliation: China Pharmaceutical University, Center for Instrumental Analysis, Tong Jiaxiang 24, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, China.
authors.forename: Shaofei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Bingren
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Shoushan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.forename: Xiaojian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Haishan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D002420:Cauda Equina / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000737:chemistry*; D004285:Dogs; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*