Detection of canine skin and subcutaneous tumors by visible and near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.
Cancer is the main cause of canine morbidity and mortality. The existing evaluation of tumors requires an experienced veterinarian and usually includes invasive procedures (e.g., fine-needle aspiration) that can be unpleasant for the dog and the owner. We investigate visible and near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) as a noninvasive optical technique for evaluation and detection of canine skin and subcutaneous tumors ex vivo and in vivo. The optical properties of tumors and skin were calculated in a spectrally constrained manner, using a lookup table-based inverse model. The obtained optical properties were analyzed and compared among different tumor groups. The calculated parameters of the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients were subsequently used for detection of malignant skin and subcutaneous tumors. The detection sensitivity and specificity of malignant tumors ex vivo were 90.0% and 73.5%, respectively, while corresponding detection sensitivity and specificity of malignant tumors in vivo were 88.4% and 54.6%, respectively. The obtained results show that the DRS is a promising noninvasive optical technique for detection and classification of malignant and benign canine skin and subcutaneous tumors. The method should be further investigated on tumors with common origin.
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Laboratory of Imaging Technologies, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniabSensum, Computer Vision Systems d.o.o., Tehnološki Park 21, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Blaž
B
Cugmas
University of Ljubljana, Veterinary Faculty, Clinic for Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Gerbiceva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Tanja
T
Plavec
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Laboratory of Imaging Technologies, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Maksimilijan
M
Bregar
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Laboratory of Imaging Technologies, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Peter
P
Naglič
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Laboratory of Imaging Technologies, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniabSensum, Computer Vision Systems d.o.o., Tehnološki Park 21, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Franjo
F
Pernuš
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Laboratory of Imaging Technologies, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniabSensum, Computer Vision Systems d.o.o., Tehnološki Park 21, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Boštjan
B
Likar
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Laboratory of Imaging Technologies, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniabSensum, Computer Vision Systems d.o.o., Tehnološki Park 21, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Miran
M
Bürmen
D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D004285:Dogs; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000662:veterinary