Real-time multi-photon microscopy for optical biopsy of colorectal tissues

The main objective of the project is to provide real-time optical biopsy using multi-photon microscopy in conjunction with conventional colonoscopy. To achieve this, a micro system will be implemented in the instrument channel of conventional colonoscopes. An infrared (IR) laser will be used in combination with optical fiber. The MPM probe will be based on a piezoelectric tube and GRIN lens assembly to scan the tissue. Two optical filters will be implemented to select two important excitation regions: a red filter will be used to show the collagen-related SHG signals and a green filter to obtain the morphology of the tissues from the TFEF signals. With IR excitation and self-focusing, MPM allows deep penetration, improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio, and decrease of light-induced damage and phototoxicity. Additionally, the implementation of these two optical filters permits a more detailed analysis. MPM in combination with colonoscopy will provide a complete diagnosis method: the suspicious tissues in conventional colonoscopy will be optically biopsied by MPM, reducing the time of examination and improving the chances of early cancer detection.

Funding Agency

FCT

Project Reference

PTDC/FIS-OTI/1259/2020

Project Members

Main Project Outcomes

S. Queirós, “Right ventricular segmentation in multi-view cardiac MRI using a unified U-net model”, in E. Puyol Antón et al. (eds) Statistical Atlases and Computational Models of the Heart. Multi-Disease, Multi-View, and Multi-Center Right Ventricular Segmentation in Cardiac MRI Challenge. STACOM 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13131, pp. 287-295, Springer, Cham, 2022.

“Best Paper Award in the M&Ms-2 Challenge”, by M&Ms2 Challenge organizers and the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) Society.