The development of mid-infrared endoscopy for the detection of malignant cells and progress towards the in-vivo optical biopsy using new optical Chalc

中红外（MIR）光纤，例如由基于硫属化物的玻璃组成的那些，具有辐射涵盖生物组织的光谱指纹区域（~3-14 μ m）的波长的潜力。已知MIR吸收取决于分子结构而变化;这是一种随疾病如癌症而改变的特征。计算分析能够明确区分健康细胞和恶性细胞的吸收光谱，消除了对传统使用的和高度缺陷的组织病理学“金标准”的需要，用于癌症检测和诊断。目前，MIR内窥镜不可用，但是，如果开发出来，将能够在体内对内部组织（如子宫内膜）进行成像和化学标测。这将使光学活检能够实时进行癌症诊断，此外还可以帮助外科医生在癌症诊断后绘制癌症边缘，以便在手术期间切除。

Mid-infrared (MIR) fibre-optics, such as those comprised of Chalcogenide based glasses, have the potential to radiate wavelengths encompassing the spectral fingerprint region of biological tissue (~3-14 um). MIR absorption is known to vary dependending on molecular structure; a feature altered with diseases such as cancer. Computational analysis enables the definitive distinction between the absorption spectra of healthy and malignant cells, nullifying the need for the traditionally used and highly flawed 'Gold Standard' of histopathology for cancer detection and diagnosis. Currently MIR endoscopes are unavailable however, if developed, would enable the imaging and chemical mapping of internal issues, such as endometrium, in-vivo. This would enable an optical biopsy for cancer diagnosis in real-time, in addition to aiding surgeons post cancer diagnosis in mapping cancer margins for removal during surgery.