Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy at endoscopy

摘要

Abstract: A spectrofluorometry system has been developed for the collection of laser induced fluorescense spectra of tissue during endoscopy. In this system, a catheter with seven optical fibers was used to deliver the excitation light and collect the emitted fluorescence. The system enables one to switch from regular endoscopy into fluorescence measurement in 50 ms using a computerized shutter system. The fluorescence spectra can be recorded in 100 ms. This spectrofluorometry system has been used to obtain spectra from bronchial, larynx and nasopharyngeal tissues when employed with the appropriate endoscopes. The results demonstrate that laser induced fluorescence can be used to differentiate abnormal tissue from normal tissue. The illumination and fluorescence collection patterns of this system have been modeled using a Monte Carlo simulation. The Monte Carlo simulation data shows that the spectra recorded by our collection pattern is very close to the intrinsic spectra of tissue. The experimental results and the Monte Carlo simulation suggest that changes in fluorescence intensity are more robust for the detection of early cancers than the differences in spectral characteristics. !8