Real-time Optical Tracking of a Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy Probe for Gastrointestinal Tissue Analysis

Colorectal cancer incidence is increasing globally and represents the fourth leading cause of death due to cancer. In this study, a diffuse reflectance spectroscopic fibre probe is employed for tissue characterization. DRS fibre probes leave no marks on tissue and thus imaging and tracking its tip during tissue scanning would enable the localization of biopsy sites. Two fiducial markers are chosen for the detection and tracking of the probe, providing both spatial and spectral information on the DRS probe. In this way, real-time tissue discrimination and display is enabled.