In vivo optical characterization of critical tissues during colorectal surgery (abstract only)

BACKGROUND: During colorectal surgical dissections, recognizing essential anatomy is crucial to prevent iatrogenic injury. This study builds forth upon previously identified new inherent anatomical spectral contrasts in fresh human colonic samples. AIM: Assessment of optical spectrometry for discriminating critical tissues (colon, adipose tissue, artery, vein and ureter) in colorectal surgery. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Acquisition of in vivo AND ex vivo wide-band diffuse reflectance spectra (350-1830nm) during colorectal surgery, analysis of all separate tissue spectra using principal component analysis (PCA) and comparing tissue categories. PRELIMINARY RESULTS: In 6 consecutive patients 156 in vivo spectra (32 tissue spots) and 118 ex vivo spectra (24 tissue spots) were collected. PCA derived parameters were used to differentiate between tissue types. Distinctive spectral contrast features (partly within wavelengths invisible to the naked human eye) could indeed be identified for all tissue types. Visualizing these invisible contrasts may enhance surgical imaging (either during open or endoscopic surgery)