title: Towards a field-compatible optical spectroscopic device for cervical cancer screening in resource-limited settings: effects of calibration and pressure.
abstract: Quantitative optical spectroscopy has the potential to provide an effective low cost, and portable solution for cervical pre-cancer screening in resource-limited communities. However, clinical studies to validate the use of this technology in resource-limited settings require low power consumption and good quality control that is minimally influenced by the operator or variable environmental conditions in the field. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of two sources of potential error: calibration and pressure on the extraction of absorption and scattering properties of normal cervical tissues in a resource-limited setting in Leogane, Haiti. Our results show that self-calibrated measurements improved scattering measurements through real-time correction of system drift, in addition to minimizing the time required for post-calibration. Variations in pressure (tested without the potential confounding effects of calibration error) caused local changes in vasculature and scatterer density that significantly impacted the tissue absorption and scattering properties Future spectroscopic systems intended for clinical use, particularly where operator training is not viable and environmental conditions unpredictable, should incorporate a real-time self-calibration channel and collect diffuse reflectance spectra at a consistent pressure to maximize data integrity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA. vivide.chang@duke.edu
authors.forename: Vivide Tuan-Chyan
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Delson
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Merisier
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Walmer
authors.forename: Nirmala
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ramanujam
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid; D000328:Adult; D002138:Calibration; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006205:Haiti; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D055096:Optical Devices; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011312:Pressure; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014626:Vaginal Smears
chemical_list: D019342:Acetic Acid