a/LCI Optical Biopsy System

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究的目的是创建一个基于角度分辨低相干干涉测量（a/LIC）的新型光学活检系统的商业原型。A/LCI是一种新型的光学技术，利用干涉法检测弹性散射光来探测食管上皮的核形态。a/LCI能够获得细胞特征的定量测量，如核大小和光密度，而不需要外源染色或固定剂，使其成为体内检测癌前组织状态（如上皮内瘤变）的极好候选筛选工具。顾名思义，a/LCI利用低相干干涉仪检测散射光的角分布。该技术通过利用宽带光的相干性，可以选择性地检测被探测组织内小区域散射的光场。探测表面下细胞形态的能力对于检测上皮组织的癌前变化尤其重要，其中基底细胞层的变化，大约在表面以下100米，是组织健康的最重要诊断。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this research is to create a commercial prototype of a new optical biopsy system based on angle-resolved Low Coherence Interferometry (a/LIC). A/LCI is a novel optical technique that uses interferometric detection of elastically scattered light to probe the nuclear morphology of esophageal epithelium. The ability of a/LCI to obtain quantitative measurements of cellular characteristics, such as nuclear size and optical density, without the need for either exogenous stains or fixatives, makes it an excellent candidate to become a screening tool for in vivo detection of pre-cancerous tissue states such as intraepithelial neoplasia. As its name implies, a/LCI detects the angular distribution of scattered light using a low-coherence interferometer. The technique enables selective detection of the optical field scattered from a small region within probed tissue by exploiting the coherence properties of broadband light. The ability to probe sub-surface cellular morphology is especially important for detecting pre- cancerous changes in epithelial tissues, where changes in the basal cell layer, approximately 100 5m beneath the surface are the most important diagnostic of tissue health. The long-range goal of this research is to create a new a/LCI-based biomedical diagnostic product for the purpose of endoscopically identifying and monitoring neoplastic transformations in humans. The research plan, proposed here, will create a prototype which can be applied in clinical studies to evaluate the feasibility of using a/LCI for tissue screening and surveillance by achieving the following milestones: (1) constructing a new a/LCI system prototype capable of rapid data acquisition through a coherent fiber bundle, (2) advancing the prototype design by implementing a novel fiber probe geometry suitable for application during endoscopic procedures, and (3) testing the functionality of the new prototype by examining ex vivo tissue sample from a rat model for esophageal cancer.The objective of this research is to develop a new instrument for detecting early stage cancer in human epithelial tissues based on a novel optical spectroscopic technique, The proposed a/LCI instrument will serve as a guide to biopsy for clinicians, enabling evaluation of tissue health in situ, prior to tissue removal. This technique has the potential to greatly improve upon the current method of random biopsy for screening for and surveillance of early stage epithelial cancers.