Wallace V P, Fitzgerald A J, Shankar S, Flanagan N, Pye R, Cluff J, Arnone D D
TeraView Ltd., Cambridge, UK.
Br J Dermatol. 2004 Aug;151(2):424-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2004.06129.x.
Terahertz radiation lies between the infrared and microwave regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and can be used to excite large amplitude vibrational modes of molecules and probe the weak interactions between them. Terahertz pulsed imaging (TPI) is a noninvasive imaging technique that utilises this radiation.
To determine whether TPI could differentiate between basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and normal tissue and to test whether it can help facilitate delineation of tumour margins prior to surgery.
A portable TPI system was used in the clinic to image 18 BCCs ex vivo and five in vivo.
The diseased tissue showed a change in terahertz properties compared with normal tissue, manifested through a broadening of the reflected terahertz pulse. Regions of disease identified in the terahertz image correlated well with histology.
This study has confirmed the potential of TPI to identify the extent of BCC in vivo and to delineate tumour margins. Further clinical study of TPI as a surgical tool is now required.
太赫兹辐射位于电磁频谱的红外和微波区域之间，可用于激发分子的大幅振动模式并探测它们之间的弱相互作用。太赫兹脉冲成像（TPI）是一种利用这种辐射的非侵入性成像技术。
确定TPI能否区分基底细胞癌（BCC）和正常组织，并测试其是否有助于在手术前明确肿瘤边界。
在临床中使用便携式TPI系统对18例离体BCC和5例活体BCC进行成像。
与正常组织相比，病变组织的太赫兹特性发生了变化，表现为反射太赫兹脉冲变宽。太赫兹图像中识别出的病变区域与组织学结果相关性良好。
本研究证实了TPI在体内识别BCC范围和明确肿瘤边界的潜力。现在需要对TPI作为一种手术工具进行进一步的临床研究。
