Konstantin G Kudrin

In vivo terahertz spectroscopy of pigmentary skin nevi: Pilot study of non-invasive early diagnosis of dysplasia

In vivo terahertz (THz) spectroscopy of pigmentary skin nevi is performed. The in vivo THz dielectric characteristics of healthy skin and dysplastic and non-dysplastic skin nevi are reconstructed and analyzed. The dielectric permittivity curves of these samples in the THz range exhibit significant differences that could allow non-invasive early diagnosis of dysplastic nevi, which are melanoma precursors. An approach for differentiating dysplastic and non-dysplastic skin nevi using the THz dielectric permittivity is proposed. The results demonstrate that THz pulsed spectroscopy is potentially an effective tool for non-invasive early diagnosis of dysplastic nevi and melanomas of the skin.

Medical diagnostics using terahertz pulsed spectroscopy

The paper contains recent results of studying the ability of human body disease diagnosis with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. In vitro skin cancer samples (squamous cell carcinoma, epithelioid cell melanoma, infiltrating carcinoma) were studied experimentally with terahertz pulsed spectrometer. The parametrical in vitro images of skin cancers are presented. The ability to make early tooth cariosity diagnosis with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy was also shown experimentally. The results of studying the in vitro tooth samples are presented and discussed.

In vivo spectroscopy of healthy skin and pathology in terahertz frequency range

Biomedical applications of terahertz (THz) technology and, in particular, THz pulsed spectroscopy have attracted considerable interest in the scientific community. A lot of papers have been dedicated to studying the ability for human disease diagnosis, including the diagnosis of human skin cancers. In this paper we have studied the THz material parameters and THz dielectric properties of human skin and pathology in vivo, and THz pulsed spectroscopy has been utilized for this purpose. We have found a contrast between material parameters of basal cell carcinoma and healthy skin, and we have also compared the THz material parameters of dysplastic and non-dysplastic pigmentary nevi in order to study the ability for early melanoma diagnosis. Significant differences between the THz material parameters of healthy skin and pathology have been detected, thus, THz pulsed spectroscopy promises to be become an effective tool for non-invasive diagnosis of skin neoplasms.

Monte Carlo simulation of optical coherence tomography signal of the skin nevus

Monte Carlo (MC) numerical simulation of light propagation in living tissue is widely used for characterization of optical coherence tomography (OCT) signals. Using MC simulation we obtained OCT images of skin with dysplastic nevus. Two various positions of skin nevus in depth were considered. Comparing these OCT simulation results with image of skin without nevus, we showed that OCT medical approach allows to detect dysplastic nevus at different stages of its life.

Wavelet-domain de-noising technique for THz pulsed spectroscopy

De-noising of terahertz (THz) pulsed spectroscopy (TPS) data is an essential problem, since a noise in the TPS system data prevents correct reconstruction of the sample spectral dielectric properties and to perform the sample internal structure studying. There are certain regions in TPS signal Fourier spectrum, where Fourier-domain signal-to-noise ratio is relatively small. Effective de-noising might potentially expand the range of spectrometer spectral sensitivity and reduce the time of waveform registration, which is an essential problem for biomedical applications of TPS. In this work, it is shown how the recent progress in signal processing in wavelet-domain could be used for TPS waveforms de-noising. It demonstrates the ability to perform effective de-noising of TPS data using the algorithm of the Fast Wavelet Transform (FWT). The results of the optimal wavelet basis selection and wavelet-domain thresholding technique selection are reported. Developed technique is implemented for reconstruction of in vivo healthy and deseased skin samplesspectral characteristics at THz frequency range.

Numerical simulation of terahertz-wave propagation in photonic crystal waveguide based on sapphire shaped crystal

Terahertz (THz) waveguiding in sapphire shaped single crystal has been studied using the numerical simulations. The numerical finite-difference analysis has been implemented to characterize the dispersion and loss in the photonic crystalline waveguide containing hollow cylindrical channels, which form the hexagonal lattice. Observed results demonstrate the ability to guide the THz-waves in multi-mode regime in wide frequency range with the minimal power extinction coefficient of 0.02 dB/cm at 1.45 THz. This shows the prospectives of the shaped crystals for highly-efficient THz waveguiding.

Wavelet-domain de-noising of optical coherent tomography data for biomedical applications

Optical coherent tomography (OCT) is a rapidly developing method of fundamental and applied research. Detection and processing of OCT images is a very important problem of applied physics and optical signal processing. In the present paper we are demonstrating the ability for effective wavelet-domain de-noising of OCT images. We are realizing an algorithm for wavelet-domain de-noising of OCT data and implementing it for the purpose of studying test samples and for in vivo nail tomography. High de-noising efficiency with no significant losses of information about the internal sample structure is observed.

A Comparison of Terahertz Pulsed Spectroscopy and Backward-Wave Oscillator Spectroscopy

This paper presents new experimental and theoretical results for the material parameter reconstruction utilizing the terahertz (THz) pulsed spectroscopy (TPS). The material parameter reconstruction algorithm was realized and experimentally implemented to study the test sample. The algorithm takes into account multiple reflections of THz pulse within the flat sample during the transmission mode measurements. Therefore the samples with small thickness or low refractive index could be studied utilizing the proposed method. In order to estimate the reconstruction accuracy, test sample material parameters, obtained with the TPS, were compared with the results of the same sample studying by the use of the backward-wave oscillator (BWO) spectroscopy. Thus, high reconstruction accuracy was demonstrated.

Principle component analysis and linear discriminant analysis of multi-spectral autofluorescence imaging data for differentiating basal cell carcinoma and healthy skin

In present paper, an ability to differentiate basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and healthy skin by combining multi-spectral autofluorescence imaging, principle component analysis (PCA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) has been demonstrated. For this purpose, the experimental setup, which includes excitation and detection branches, has been assembled. The excitation branch utilizes a mercury arc lamp equipped with a 365-nm narrow-linewidth excitation filter, a beam homogenizer, and a mechanical chopper. The detection branch employs a set of bandpass filters with the central wavelength of spectral transparency of λ = 400, 450, 500, and 550 nm, and a digital camera. The setup has been used to study three samples of freshly excised BCC. PCA and LDA have been implemented to analyze the data of multi-spectral fluorescence imaging. Observed results of this pilot study highlight the advantages of proposed imaging technique for skin cancer diagnosis.

In vivo terahertz pulsed spectroscopy of dysplastic and non-dysplastic skin nevi

The results of the in vivo terahertz (THz) pulsed spectroscopy (TPS) of pigmentary skin nevi are reported. Observed THz dielectric permittivity of healthy skin and dysplastic and non-dysplastic skin nevi exhibits significant contrast in THz frequency range. Dysplastic skin nevus is a precursor of melanoma, which is reportedly the most dangerous cancer of the skin. Therefore, the THz dielectric spectroscopy is potentially an effective tool for non-invasive early diagnosis of melanomas of the skin.