Search Results
Nonresonant Raman spectroscopy of isolated human retina samples complying with laser safety regulations for in vivo measurements
2019, Stiebing, Clara, Schie, Iwan W., Knorr, Florian, Schmitt, Michael, Keijzer, Nanda, Kleemann, Robert, Jahn, Izabella J., Jahn, Martin, Kiliaan, Amanda J., Ginner, Laurin, Lichtenegger, Antonia, Drexler, Wolfgang, Leitgeb, Rainer A., Popp, Jürgen
Retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, are leading causes of vision impairment, increasing in incidence worldwide due to an aging society. If diagnosed early, most cases could be prevented. In contrast to standard ophthalmic diagnostic tools, Raman spectroscopy can provide a comprehensive overview of the biochemical composition of the retina in a label-free manner. A proof of concept study of the applicability of nonresonant Raman spectroscopy for retinal investigations is presented. Raman imaging provides valuable insights into the molecular composition of an isolated ex vivo human retina sample by probing the entire molecular fingerprint, i.e., the lipid, protein, carotenoid, and nucleic acid content. The results are compared to morphological information obtained by optical coherence tomography of the sample. The challenges of in vivo Raman studies due to laser safety limitations and predefined optical parameters given by the eye itself are explored. An in-house built setup simulating the optical pathway in the human eye was developed and used to demonstrate that even under laser safety regulations and the above-mentioned optical restrictions, Raman spectra of isolated ex vivo human retinas can be recorded. The results strongly support that in vivo studies using nonresonant Raman spectroscopy are feasible and that these studies provide comprehensive molecular information of the human retina. © The Authors. Published by SPIE.
Application of High-Throughput Screening Raman Spectroscopy (HTS-RS) for Label-Free Identification and Molecular Characterization of Pollen
2019, Mondol, Abdullah S., Patel, Milind D., Rüger, Jan, Stiebing, Clara, Kleiber, Andreas, Henkel, Thomas, Popp, Jürgen, Schie, Iwan W.
Pollen studies play a critical role in various fields of science. In the last couple of decades, replacement of manual identification of pollen by image-based methods using pollen morphological features was a great leap forward, but challenges for pollen with similar morphology remain, and additional approaches are required. Spectroscopy approaches for identification of pollen, such as Raman spectroscopy has potential benefits over traditional methods, due to the investigation of the intrinsic molecular composition of a sample. However, current Raman-based characterization of pollen is complex and time-consuming, resulting in low throughput and limiting the statistical significance of the acquired data. Previously demonstrated high-throughput screening Raman spectroscopy (HTS-RS) eliminates the complexity as well as human interaction by incorporation full automation of the data acquisition process. Here, we present a customization of HTS-RS for pollen identification, enabling sampling of a large number of pollen in comparison to other state-of-the-art Raman pollen investigations. We show that using Raman spectra we are able to provide a preliminary estimation of pollen types based on growth habits using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) as well as good taxonomy of 37 different Pollen using principal component analysis-support vector machine (PCA-SVM) with good accuracy even for the pollen specimens sharing similar morphological features. Our results suggest that HTS-RS platform meets the demands for automated pollen detection making it an alternative method for research concerning pollen.
Combination of high-resolution optical coherence tomography and raman spectroscopy for improved staging and grading in bladder cancer
2018, Bovenkamp, Daniela, Sentosa, Ryan, Rank, Elisabet, Erkkilä, Mikael T., Placzek, Fabian, Püls, Jeremias, Drexler, Wolfgang, Leitgeb, Rainer Andreas, Garstka, Nathalie, Shariat, Shahrokh F., Stiebing, Clara, Schie, Iwan W., Popp, Jürgen, Andreana, Marco, Unterhuber, Angelika
We present a combination of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and Raman spectroscopy (RS) for improved diagnosis and discrimination of different stages and grades of bladder cancer ex vivo by linking the complementary information provided by these two techniques. Bladder samples were obtained from biopsies dissected via transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT). As OCT provides structural information rapidly, it was used as a red-flag technology to scan the bladder wall for suspicious lesions with the ability to discriminate malignant tissue from healthy urothelium. Upon identification of degenerated tissue via OCT, RS was implemented to determine the molecular characteristics via point measurements at suspicious sites. Combining the complementary information of both modalities allows not only for staging, but also for differentiation of low-grade and high-grade cancer based on a multivariate statistical analysis. OCT was able to clearly differentiate between healthy and malignant tissue by tomogram inspection and achieved an accuracy of 71% in the staging of the tumor, from pTa to pT2, through texture analysis followed by k-nearest neighbor classification. RS yielded an accuracy of 93% in discriminating low-grade from high-grade lesions via principal component analysis followed by k-nearest neighbor classification. In this study, we show the potential of a multi-modal approach with OCT for fast pre-screening and staging of cancerous lesions followed by RS for enhanced discrimination of low-grade and high-grade bladder cancer in a non-destructive, label-free and non-invasive way.
Evaluation of shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy and comparison to computational background correction methods applied to biochemical Raman spectra
2017, Cordero, Eliana, Korinth, Florian, Stiebing, Clara, Krafft, Christoph, Schie, Iwan W., Popp, Jürgen
Raman spectroscopy provides label-free biochemical information from tissue samples without complicated sample preparation. The clinical capability of Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo applications. However, a challenge for in vivo applications is the simultaneous excitation of auto-fluorescence in the majority of tissues of interest, such as liver, bladder, brain, and others. Raman bands are then superimposed on a fluorescence background, which can be several orders of magnitude larger than the Raman signal. To eliminate the disturbing fluorescence background, several approaches are available. Among instrumentational methods shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) has been widely applied and studied. Similarly, computational techniques, for instance extended multiplicative scatter correction (EMSC), have also been employed to remove undesired background contributions. Here, we present a theoretical and experimental evaluation and comparison of fluorescence background removal approaches for Raman spectra based on SERDS and EMSC.