Novel imaging approaches in onco-diagnostics

The aim of this research is the development of innovative methodologies, diagnostic tools and pilot instrumentation for biomedical diagnostics of tumours. Among them, the application of Raman spectroscopy for non-destructive examination of biological samples has become the subject of increasing number of research studies. To date, this promising optical technique is used to obtain molecular fingerprints of biological tissues, demonstrating great potential as ex-vivo and in-vivo diagnostic tool. Clinicians are particularly interested in getting the Raman fingerprints, characteristic for various malignant tissues, and for cancer and pre-cancerous tissue earlier detection. However, nowadays, there is no complete systematic database of Raman spectra on various human tissues and organs. This process has been started by several groups, but there is still much information missing, being the field extremely large. In this work, healthy and malignant liver and thyroid tissues were analysed, obtaining their Raman characterization. In order to develop a diagnostic tool to be used in-vivo for surgery or in 3D tomography for medical check up, it is also necessary to quantify the real measurable volume, which will be the argument of our further studies. By using multiple excitation wavelength, one could compose a three-dimensional image of the tissue or the investigated organ. Under the stage of development, a diagnostics device based on the Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy, providing, in real time, the data about the nature of soft tissues and aiming at the selective removal of neoplastic part. For early diagnosis of cancer and the development of diagnostic imaging, Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy (SNOM) has been coupled with a light source, based on Free Electron Laser at the IR FEL facility in Daresbury. The esophageal adenocarcinoma, the fastest rise in incidence in the Western world, requires an instrument providing specific chemical images at sub-cellular level of esophagus tissue, with the potential to develop very accurate diagnostic tests. Preliminary results have shown that the system can operate at nanometer resolution, in order to distinguish between healthy and malignant tissues. This system is expected to produce a major advance in imaging of malignant tissues, leading to the development of portable diagnostic tools for hospital use also for other types of cancer. It is also planned to utilise this powerful combination of high spatial resolution and chemical specificity to study the key components responsible for cancer formation.