title: Disposable sheath that facilitates endoscopic Raman spectroscopy.
abstract: In vivo endoscopic Raman spectroscopy of human tissue using a fiber optic probe has been previously demonstrated. However, there remain several technical challenges, such as a robust control over the laser radiation dose and measurement repeatability during endoscopy. A decrease in the signal to noise was also observed due to aging of Raman probe after repeated cycles of harsh reprocessing procedures. To address these issues, we designed and tested a disposable, biocompatible, and sterile sheath for use with a fiber optic endoscopic Raman probe. The sheath effectively controls contamination of Raman probes between procedures, greatly reduces turnaround time, and slows down the aging of the Raman probes. A small optical window fitted at the sheath cap maintained the measurement distance between Raman probe end and tissue surface. To ensure that the sheath caused a minimal amount of fluorescence and Raman interference, the optical properties of materials for the sheath, optical window, and bonding agent were studied. The easy-to-use sheath can be manufactured at a moderate cost. The sheath strictly enforced a maximum permissible exposure standard of the tissue by the laser and reduced the spectral variability by 1.5 to 8.5 times within the spectral measurement range.
authors.affiliation: BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Imaging Unit-Integrative Oncology Department, 675 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1L3, CanadabUniversity of British Columbia, Faculty of Applied Science, Department of Biomedical Engineering, KAIS 5500.
authors.forename: Wenbo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Imaging Unit-Integrative Oncology Department, 675 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1L3, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Short
authors.affiliation: BC Cancer Agency, Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, 675 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1L3, CanadadUniversity of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, 2775 Laurel Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.
authors.forename: Isabella T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.affiliation: BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Imaging Unit-Integrative Oncology Department, 675 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1L3, Canada.
authors.forename: Haishan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D003113:Colonoscopy; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D004817:Epidermis; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*