Development of a compact multimodal imaging system for rapid characterisation of intrinsic optical properties of freshly excised tissue (Conference Presentation)

Advanced optical endoscopic imaging techniques, including hyperspectral and holographic endoscopy, have shown promise in the improved diagnosis of the early stage of cancer. However, clinical applications of these imaging systems are still limited due to unclear diagnostic optical properties. Here, we developed a compact multimodal imaging system that enables hyperspectral imaging, spatial-frequency domain imaging, and 3D profilometric imaging to characterise the optimal optical features for the early detection of lesions. Optical properties of fresh specimens obtained from patients were measured within 30 minutes, and then histopathological assessment of specimens was performed to link extracted optical features to gold-standard diagnosis. With further sample collection and system refinements, this system can be used for high-throughput optical characterisation of fresh tissue specimens, allowing us to determine the optical signatures of early-stage disease.