Development of infrared optical fibre devices and systems for applications in medical diagnosis.

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We aim to develop a mid-infrared fibreoptic device for use in surface tissue evaluation to help medical diagnosis and possible early detection of skin cancer. Skin cancers are the most common of all human cancers and their number is increasing annually. For skin diagnostics, the reference standard at present is visual inspection by an experienced dermatologist, but this is both time-consuming and dependent on human judgement. Mid-infrared light (invisible to the naked eye) potentially provides a clinically important diagnostic capability. The mid-infrared light reflected from tissue like skin is rich in characteristic tissue signatures. The light is amenable to the technique of spectroscopy i.e. monitoring of light intensity after interaction with the tissue. There are examples in the recent literature of spectroscopic differences between malignant and normal tissue in surgically removed tissue. Our challenge is to develop a device for carrying out tissue spectroscopy on skin in vivo. Such a device could lead to easier, faster, more accurate diagnoses and perhaps screening for skin cancer. A key enabling technology for practical deployment of this device is the means of efficiently routing the light to where it is needed. We are engineers working on a practical solution of a device based on mid-infrared-transmitting optical fibres to carry the light.