Oichi Kubota

Brain tumor imaging of rat fresh tissue using terahertz spectroscopy

Tumor imaging by terahertz spectroscopy of fresh tissue without dye is demonstrated using samples from a rat glioma model. The complex refractive index spectrum obtained by a reflection terahertz time-domain spectroscopy system can discriminate between normal and tumor tissues. Both the refractive index and absorption coefficient of tumor tissues are higher than those of normal tissues and can be attributed to the higher cell density and water content of the tumor region. The results of this study indicate that terahertz technology is useful for detecting brain tumor tissue.

Terahertz spectroscopy and detection of brain tumor in rat fresh-tissue samples

Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and imaging of biomedical samples is expected to be an important application of THz analysis techniques. Identification and localization of tumor tissue, imaging of biological samples, and analysis of DNA by THz spectroscopy have been reported. THz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) is useful for obtaining the refractive index over a broad frequency range. However, THz-TDS spectra of fresh tissue samples are sensitive to procedures such as sample preparation, and a standardized measurement protocol is required. Therefore, in this work, we establish a protocol for measurements of THz spectra of fresh tissue and demonstrate reliable detection of rat brain tumor tissue. We use a reflection THz-TDS system to measure the refractive index spectra of the samples mounted on a quartz plate. The tissue samples were measured immediately after sectioning to avoid sample denaturalization during storage. Special care was taken in THz data processing to eliminate parasitic reflections and reduce noise. The error level in our refractive index measurements was as low as 0.02 in the frequency range 0.8–1.5 THz. With increasing frequency, the refractive index in the tumor and normal regions monotonically decreased, similarly to water, and it was 0.02 higher in the tumor regions. The spectral data suggest that the tumor regions have higher water content. Hematoxylin-eosin stained images showed that increased cell density was also responsible for the observed spectral features. A set of samples from 10 rats showed consistent results. Our results suggest that reliable tumor detection in fresh tissue without pretreatment is possible with THz spectroscopy measurements. THz spectroscopy has the potential to become a real-time in vivo diagnostic method.

Origin and quantification of differences between normal and tumor tissues observed by terahertz spectroscopy

The origin of the differences in the refractive index observed between normal and tumor tissues using terahertz spectroscopy has been described quantitatively. To estimate water content differences in tissues, we prepared fresh and paraffin-embedded samples from rats. An approximately 5% increase of water content in tumor tissues was calculated from terahertz time domain spectroscopy measurements compared to normal tissues. A greater than 15% increase in percentage of cell nuclei per unit area in tumor tissues was observed by hematoxylin and eosin stained samples, which generates a higher refractive index of biological components other than water. Both high water content and high cell density resulted in higher refractive index by approximately 0.05 in tumor tissues. It is predicted that terahertz spectroscopy can also be used to detect brain tumors in human tissue due to the same underlying mechanism as in rats.

Field emitters with nanoscale tips based on Mo oxide fabricated by electrochemical methods

Field emitters with nanoscale tips and a fabrication technique using a nanoscale gap are described. Each fabrication technique makes it possible to form emitters on a meter-scale glass substrate. The emitter has a configuration with one side gate to reduce the electron scattering losses at the counter electrode to improve the emission efficiency. All thin film layers constituting the emitter are fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and sputtering deposition. Nanoscale tips are formed between a shallow gap less than 7 nm deep by the joule heating of a Mo complex oxide, which is produced by the electro chemical etching of a deposited Mo layer. To our knowledge, this is the first work that shows a uniform efficiency of 5% or more achieved at an anode voltage of 10 kV and an operation voltage of 23 V.