Method and device for the optical spectroscopic identification of cervical cancer

Abstract

A medical examination device used for the detection of pre-cancerous and cancerous tissue has an illumination source, a visualization unit, a contacting optical probe, a detector and a process unit. One embodiment of the apparatus includes both a non-contacting macroscopic viewing device (the visualization unit) for visualizing an interior surface of the cervix, as well as a fiber optic wand (contacting optical probe) for spectrally analyzing a microscopic view of the tissue.

1 . A medical examination device comprising:
 an illumination source, wherein the illumination source includes a lamp and a plurality of selectably engageable filters for generating a beam of light of a selected wavelength;   a light directing device for selectably directing the beam of light from the lamp in a first beam direction or in a second beam direction;   a visualization unit that receives the beam of light whenever the beam of light is directed in the first beam direction and radiates a tissue with the received beam of light, the visualization unit visualizes and captures a macroscopic view of the tissue from a first emitted light beam emanating from the tissue illuminated with the received beam of light;   a fiber optic probe having a shaft, a handle, and a fiber optic bundle having a plurality of excitation fiber optic strands and a collection fiber optic strand, wherein whenever the beam of light is directed in the second beam direction the excitation fiber optic strands receive and transmit the beam of light to a selected microscopic tissue area at a site of contact with a distal end of the fiber optic probe, and wherein the collection fiber optic strand collects a second emitted light beam emanating from the tissue area illuminated with the beam of light transmitted by the excitation fiber optic strands;   a detector for detecting a plurality of emission wavelengths from the second emitted light beam; and   a processor for calculating from the emission wavelengths a probability that the tissue is diseased.   
     
     
         2 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of filters are in a filter wheel. 
     
     
         3 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the lamp includes a plurality of selectable LEDs. 
     
     
         4 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the light directing device includes a mirror that is reciprocable between a first mirror position and a second mirror position. 
     
     
         5 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the light directing device includes a beam splitter. 
     
     
         6 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the visualization unit includes an ocular device for visualizing the macroscopic view of the tissue. 
     
     
         7 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the visualization unit includes a camera for capturing the macroscopic view of the tissue. 
     
     
         8 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the distal end of the probe is a blunted surface for optimizing contact with the tissue. 
     
     
         9 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the collection fiber optic strand is centrally positioned in the fiber optic bundle and is surrounded by multiple coaxial excitation fiber optic strands. 
     
     
         10 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber optic probe further comprising a disposable sheath for covering the shaft of the fiber optic probe. 
     
     
         11 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the lamp is a plurality of selectable LEDs, a Xenon arc lamp, a Mercury arc lamp or a halogen lamp. 
     
     
         12 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the beam of light used to illuminate the tissue for fluorescence excitation has a wavelength band of about 455-465 nm, 410-430 nm, 375-385 nm, or 340-360 nm. 
     
     
         13 . The medical examination device of  claim 1 , wherein the beam of light used to illuminate the tissue for reflectance visualization has a wavelength band of about 400-700 nm, 455-465 nm, or 410-430 nm. 
     
     
         14 . The medical examination device of  claim 13 , wherein the beam of light is polarized or unpolarized. 
     
     
         15 . A medical examination device comprising:
 an illumination source, wherein the illumination source includes a lamp and a plurality of selectably engageable filters for generating a beam of light of a selected wavelength;   a light directing device for selectably directing the beam of light from the lamp in a first beam direction or in a second beam direction;   a visualization unit that receives the beam of light whenever the beam of light is directed in the first beam direction and radiates a tissue with the received beam of light, the visualization unit captures an image of a macroscopic view of the tissue from a first emitted light beam emanating from the tissue illuminated with the received beam of light;   a fiber optic probe having a shaft, a handle, and a fiber optic bundle having a plurality of excitation fiber optic strands and a collection fiber optic strand, wherein whenever the beam of light is directed in the second beam direction the excitation fiber optic strands receive and transmit the beam of light to a selected microscopic tissue area at a site of contact with a distal end of the fiber optic probe, and wherein the collection fiber optic strand collects a second emitted light beam emanating from the tissue area illuminated with the beam of light transmitted by the excitation fiber optic strands;   a detector for detecting a plurality of emission wavelengths from the second emitted light beam;   a user interface unit; and   a processor in communication with the illumination source, the light directing device, the visualization unit, the fiber optic probe, the detector and the user interface unit.   
     
     
         16 . The medical examination device of  claim 15 , wherein the user interface unit informs the processor to selectably activate the visualization unit or the fiber optic probe. 
     
     
         17 . The medical examination device of  claim 16 , wherein the processor activates the light directing device to selectably direct the beam of light in the first beam direction or in the second beam direction. 
     
     
         18 . The medical examination device of  claim 15 , wherein the user interface unit informs the processor to select and engage one of the filters in the illumination source. 
     
     
         19 . The medical examination device of  claim 15 , wherein the visualization unit includes a camera for capturing the macroscopic view of the tissue. 
     
     
         20 . The medical examination device of  claim 15 , wherein the visualization unit captures a first set of images including one image of the macroscopic view of the tissue for each wavelength of a first set of selected wavelengths. 
     
     
         21 . The medical examination device of  claim 20 , wherein the first set of captured images is displayed on a monitor. 
     
     
         22 . The medical examination device of  claim 15 , wherein the fiber optic probe further comprises a disposable sheath for covering the shaft of the fiber optic probe. 
     
     
         23 . The medical examination device of  claim 22 , wherein the distal end of the fiber optic probe and the distal end of the sheath is blunted to provide close contact with the microscopic tissue area. 
     
     
         24 . The medical examination device of  claim 15 , wherein the fiber optic probe sequentially transmits a beam of light to the selected microscopic tissue area for each wavelength of a second set of selected wavelengths. 
     
     
         25 . The medical examination device of  claim 24 , wherein the collection strand of the fiber optic probe collects the second emitted light beam for each wavelength of the second set of wavelengths. 
     
     
         26 . The medical examination device of  claim 25 , wherein the processor calculates a probability that the microscopic tissue area is diseased from the emission wavelengths detected by the detector in second emitted light beams collected for the second set of wavelengths. 
     
     
         27 . The medical examination device of  claim 15 , wherein the processor calculates from the emission wavelengths of the second emitted light beam a probability that the microscopic tissue area is cancerous. 
     
     
         28 . The medical examination device of  claim 15 , wherein the detector includes a spectrophotometer and a plurality of selectably engageable filters for filtering the second emitted light beam before the second emitted light beam enters the detector. 
     
     
         29 . A method of detecting cervical cancer comprising the steps of:
 filtering a beam of light from an illumination source with a selection of filters to produce a plurality of desired wavelengths;   sequentially transmitting a first set of wavelengths produced from the beam of light to a visualization unit;   illuminating a portion of a cervix with the first set of wavelengths transmitted to the visualization unit;   capturing an image of a macroscopic view of the cervix illuminated with each of the first set of wavelengths;   selecting a microscopic tissue site within the macroscopic view for further investigation;   watching the placement of a distal end of a fiber optic probe in contact with the selected microscopic tissue site;   activating a light directing device to direct a second set of wavelengths to a plurality of excitation fibers in the fiber optic probe;   sequentially transmitting the second set of wavelengths though the excitation fibers to illuminate the selected tissue site;   collecting an emitted light beam emanating from the illuminated tissue site through a reception fiber optic strand;   conducting a spectral analysis of the collected light using a spectrometer; and   calculating a probability that the selected tissue site is cancerous.