Real time noninvasive cancer diagnostics

Laser illumination of tissue results in a characteristic fluorescence emission spectrum whose features depend on the type of tissue, viz., healthy, adenoma or malignant. Hence measurement of the fluorescence is potentially a rapid and reliable diagnostic method. We have applied the technique to thyroid tissues and found that judicious normalization of the fluorescence spectrum reveals a close correlation between spectral shape and tissue type. Hence the pathological state of the tissue can be unambiguously identified from the laser-induced fluorescence spectrum. The method is rapid and portable and is therefore eminently suitable for use during operations.