[MOS] September 16, 2008

[Zina Queen]

Seminar on
Modern Optics and Spectroscopy


Detecting cervical pre-cancer with "fluorectance" spectroscopy

Jelena Mirkovic, MIT

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.



Cervical pre-cancer is currently diagnosed via colposcopy, a 
procedure in which the cervix is inspected with a low-power 
microscope and suspect tissue is then biopsied. Colposcopy can 
accurately detect pre-cancerous cervical lesions, but it leads to 
many unnecessary biopsies. The aim of our project is to develop a 
spectroscopy-based tool for accurate detection of cervical pre-cancer 
and improve the yield of biopsy. We collect tissue reflectance and 
fluorescence with a portable, optical fiber instrument, to extract 
and quantify biochemical and structural features of the tissue. We 
have developed an accurate, site-specific algorithm for detecting 
pre-cancer in the transformation zone, the region where the vast 
majority of cervical lesions arise. Using optical methods, we have 
extended our optical fiber detection technique to the imaging mode, 
for wide-area tissue surveillance. An ongoing clinical imaging study 
demonstrates the spectroscopic contrast between pre-cancerous and non 
pre-cancerous cervical tissue.



Grier Room, MIT Bldg 34-401
Refreshments served after the lecture
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