Geldof et al. describe the development of a finger-tip diffuse optical fiber probe that could become an ubiquitous spectroscopic tool for improved early screening of colorectal cancers. Building on previously well-established ideas of using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) for diagnosis of colorectal cancers, the authors here have created an optical probe that literally was 3D printed to fit on the fingertips of an examiner. This design would allow such a device to seamlessly fit into standard procedures that screen for colorectal cancers. The design was achieved by incorporating side-firing probes into the finger-tip mould. The authors rigorously modeled their probe design and validated its depth-sensitivity in artificially prepared tissue-like materials called optical phantoms relative to more typical forward-firing probes. The authors next demonstrated the probe performance in measurements on 9 excised colon samples across 150 locations (46: on fat; 45: on muscle and 59: on cancer). When compared to histopathological results at each measured site, the finger-tip probe provided sensitivity and specificity above 92%. This work shows how low-cost optical devices may find wide utility in early screening of colorectal cancers.

---

---

 Add Comment

You must log in to add comments.