Near-infrared fluorescence imaging for colonic cancer detection

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging is a novel optical technique with an ability of probing larger volume of tissues or lesions located in deep tissue areas. An integrated fluorescence and reflectance imaging system was developed to evaluate its potential for cancer diagnosis. The results show that the NIR autofluorescence intensity of normal colon tissues is significantly higher than that of cancer, and the diagnostic accuracy of 92.8% can be achieved using NIR autofluorescence/reflectance imaging. This work demonstrates that NIR autofluorescence/NIR reflectance imaging technique has potential for colonic cancer diagnosis and detection.