title: An Infrared Absorbance Sensor for the Detection of Melanoma in Skin Biopsies.
abstract: An infrared (IR) absorbance sensor has been designed, realized and tested with the aim of detecting malignant melanomas in human skin biopsies. The sensor has been designed to obtain fast measurements (80 s) of a biopsy using a small light spot (0.5 mm in diameter, typically five to 10 times smaller than the biopsy size) to investigate different biopsy areas. The sensor has been equipped with a monochromator to record the whole IR spectrum in the 3330-3570 nm wavelength range (where methylene and methyl stretching vibrations occur) for a qualitative spectral investigation. From the collected spectra, the CH₂ stretch ratio values (ratio of the absorption intensities of the symmetric to asymmetric CH₂ stretching peaks) are determined and studied as a cancer indicator. Melanoma areas exhibit different spectral shapes and significantly higher CH₂ stretch ratios when compared to healthy skin. The results of the infrared investigation are compared with standard histology. This study shows that the IR sensor is a promising supportive tool to improve the diagnosis of melanoma during histopathological analysis, decreasing the risk of misdiagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Microsensors, Actuators and Systems (IMSAS), MCB, University of Bremen, Bremen D-28359, Germany. vfioravanti@imsas.uni-bremen.de.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fioravanti
authors.affiliation: Institute for Microsensors, Actuators and Systems (IMSAS), MCB, University of Bremen, Bremen D-28359, Germany. lbrandhoff@imsas.uni-bremen.de.
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brandhoff
authors.affiliation: Institute for Microsensors, Actuators and Systems (IMSAS), MCB, University of Bremen, Bremen D-28359, Germany. sdriesche@uni-bremen.de.
authors.forename: Sander
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van den Driesche
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna A-1090, Austria. heimo.breiteneder@meduniwien.ac.at.
authors.forename: Heimo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Breiteneder
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University Hospital St. Poelten, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, St. Poelten A-3100, Austria. melitta.kitzwoegerer@stpoelten.lknoe.at.
authors.forename: Melitta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitzwögerer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna A-1090, Austria. christine.hafner@meduniwien.ac.at.|Department of Dermatology, University Hospital St. Poelten, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, St. Poelten A-3100, Austria. christine.hafner@meduniwien.ac.at.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hafner
authors.affiliation: Institute for Microsensors, Actuators and Systems (IMSAS), MCB, University of Bremen, Bremen D-28359, Germany. mvellekoop@imsas.uni-bremen.de.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Vellekoop
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology
keywords: absorbance spectroscopy; infrared sensor; melanoma; skin biopsy