Optical system for detection and characterization of abnormal tissue and cells

摘要

An optical system and apparatus for the diagnosis of a biological sample is disclosed. An embodiment of the apparatus includes an optical probe, a probe head distally connectable to the optical probe, the optical probe further comprising at least one optical element for applying an electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength to the biological sample, and one or more collection elements positioned proximate the at least one optical element; and an analyzer for analyzing a signal received from the biological sample by the one or more collection elements.

主权项

1. An apparatus for diagnosing cancer in a biological tissue of a patient in real-time comprising:
an optical probe having a probe tip distally connectable to the optical probe, the probe tip further comprising: at least one application element comprising a decladded optical fiber element partially coated with metallic nanosized conductive beads on an outer surface of the decladded optical fiber element, for applying electromagnetic radiation of a first optical wavelength directly to the biological tissue, one or more separate collection elements each of the one or more separate collection elements comprising a plurality of cladded optical fibers positioned around the decladded optical fiber covered with metallic nanosized beads and having an end terminating proximate the distal end of the decladded optical fiber element, a fiber bundle array connector connected to the decladded optical fiber element at a proximal end and the one or more separate collection elements at a distal end, and further wherein the collection elements are configured to collect a near-field Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) response signal from the biological tissue in response to the applied electromagnetic radiation, reflected from the biological tissue; and a computer configured to analyze a spectrum of the response signal received from the biological tissue by the one or more separate collection elements; emitting electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength along a length of the decladded optical fiber element in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the decladded optical fiber; collecting the near-field Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy response signal from the biological tissue through the collection elements; analyzing, with the computer, the collected near-field Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy response signal received from the biological tissue to produce a real-time result to identify one or more molecular signatures of the biological tissue; calculate, with the computer, the normal distribution of the molecular signatures of the biological tissue; and determine, with the computer, a diagnosis of cancer of the biological tissue by comparing the normal distribution of the biological tissue with a benign reference tissue normal distribution.