Narrowband Terahertz Imager

窄带太赫兹成像仪

• 批准号: 7744714
• 负责人: Wayne D. Kimura
• 金额: $ 18.47万
• 依托单位: STI OPTRONICS, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-29 至 2010-08-05
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7744714
• 关键词: Affect; Area; Basal cell carcinoma; California; Cancer Detection; Cancer Diagnostics; Cancerous; Carcinoma; Confocal Microscopy; Detection; Diagnosis; Diagnostic; Diagnostic Imaging; Ensure; Evaluation; Excision; Face; Frequencies; Goals; Government; Human body; Image; Imaging Techniques; Light; Los Angeles; Malignant Neoplasms; Medical; Medical Research; Medicine; Neck; Noise; Normal tissue morphology; Optical Coherence Tomography; Output; Persons; Phase; Physiologic pulse; Plague; Preclinical Testing; Proteins; Quartz; Radiation; Reading; Research; Research Personnel; Resolution; Scanning; Scheme; Signal Transduction; Skin; Skin Cancer; Skin Carcinoma; Source; Specimen; Structure; Surface; Surgeon; System; Technology; Testing; Tissues; Ultrasonography; Universities; Water; Work; absorption; base; engineering design; human tissue; improved; in vivo; light scattering; neoplastic cell; pre-clinical; programs; public health relevance; research study; tool

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Narrowband Terahertz Imager for Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Detection Terahertz (THz) radiation is nonionizing and safe for probing human tissue. Unlike ultrasound, THz light is capable of submillimeter resolution and, unlike other imaging techniques, THz light is not affected by light scattering. This unique capability has given rise to a number of potential applications for THz light in medicine and bioscience. Realization of these applications has been hampered because existing THz sources generally have low output power, some have limited tunability, and many emit broadband radiation, which can be unsuitable for certain applications. Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have demonstrated a new scheme for generating powerful, narrowband, and tunable THz light that can satisfy the needs of these applications. In order to develop this scheme into a practical technology, we are proposing to focus on one specific, highly promising application - an imaging system for detection of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer affecting over 1 million people per year. Preclinical tests have shown the ability to detect BCC with THz light because BCC tissue tends to have higher water content than normal tissue and THz light is strongly absorbed by water. However, current THz-based diagnostics rely on relatively weak broadband THz sources and require many minutes to create an image of the skin via raster scanning. During scanning the affected skin area must be pressed against a quartz plate, which precludes diagnosing the face and neck. False-positive results are also possible because inflamed normal tissue adjacent to the BCC can strongly absorb THz light. Hence, a more discriminating, more rapid, and noncontact THz-based diagnostic is needed. The overall goal of our program is to develop a narrowband, high-peak-power THz imaging system based upon the UCLA work that 1) is powerful enough to obtain 2-D images without the need for raster scanning with the specimen placed on a quartz plate; and 2) will use its narrowband capability to enable unambiguous detection of the carcinoma in a manner that is not possible with a broadband THz source. During Phase I, we will utilize the UCLA THz source, which has limited tunability, to perform proof-of- principle experiments to demonstrate THz imaging of water phantoms. During Phase II, a higher average power and highly tunable narrowband THz source will be built and used to demonstrate improved detection of BCC. Medical research collaborators will be involved during the Phase II tests. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Narrowband Terahertz Imager for Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Detection Nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer affecting over 1 million people per year. A new type of skin cancer diagnostic is being developed that will make it easier to identify cancerous tissue and will aid the surgeon during removal of the skin cancer to ensure all the cancer is excised while minimizing removal of healthy tissue. This diagnostic will also be useful as a new tool for medical and bioscience research.

描述（由申请人提供）：用于非黑色素瘤皮肤癌检测的窄带太赫兹成像仪太赫兹（THz）辐射是非电离的，对于探测人体组织是安全的。与超声波不同，太赫兹光能够达到亚毫米分辨率，并且与其他成像技术不同，太赫兹光不受光散射的影响。这种独特的能力已经引起了太赫兹光在医学和生物科学中的许多潜在应用。这些应用的实现受到阻碍，因为现有的THz源通常具有低输出功率，一些具有有限的可调谐性，并且许多发射宽带辐射，这可能不适合于某些应用。位于洛杉矶的加州大学（UCLA）的研究人员展示了一种新的方案，用于产生强大的窄带和可调谐的THz光，可以满足这些应用的需求。为了将该方案发展成一种实用的技术，我们建议专注于一个特定的，非常有前途的应用-用于检测基底细胞癌（BCC）的成像系统。非黑色素瘤皮肤癌是最常见的癌症形式，每年影响超过100万人。临床前测试已经显示了用THz光检测BCC的能力，因为BCC组织往往具有比正常组织更高的含水量，并且THz光被水强烈吸收。然而，目前基于太赫兹的诊断依赖于相对较弱的宽带太赫兹源，并且需要许多分钟来经由光栅扫描创建皮肤的图像。在扫描过程中，受影响的皮肤区域必须压在石英板上，这排除了对面部和颈部的诊断。假阳性结果也是可能的，因为邻近BCC的发炎正常组织可以强烈吸收THz光。因此，需要一种更有鉴别力、更快速和非接触的基于太赫兹的诊断方法。我们计划的总体目标是开发一个窄带，高峰值功率THz成像系统的基础上，加州大学洛杉矶分校的工作，1）是足够强大，以获得2-D图像，而不需要光栅扫描与标本放置在石英板; 2）将使用其窄带能力，使明确的检测癌的方式是不可能与宽带THz源。在第一阶段，我们将利用加州大学洛杉矶分校的太赫兹源，它具有有限的可调谐性，进行原理验证实验，以证明太赫兹成像的水幻影。在第二阶段，将建立一个更高的平均功率和高度可调的窄带太赫兹源，并用于证明改进的BCC检测。医学研究合作者将参与第二阶段的测试。公共卫生关系：用于非黑色素瘤皮肤癌检测的窄带太赫兹成像仪非黑色素瘤皮肤癌是最常见的癌症形式，每年影响超过100万人。一种新型的皮肤癌诊断方法正在开发中，它将使识别癌组织变得更容易，并将在皮肤癌切除过程中帮助外科医生确保所有癌症都被切除，同时最大限度地减少健康组织的切除。这种诊断方法也将作为医学和生物科学研究的新工具。