Label-free intraoperative nerve detection and visualization using ratiometric diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT: Iatrogenic nerve injuries contribute significantly to postoperative morbidity across various surgical disciplines and occur in approximately 500,000 cases annually in the US alone. Currently, there are no clinically adopted means to intraoperatively visualize nerves beyond the surgeon's visual assessment. Here, we report a label-free method for nerve detection using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Starting with an in vivo rat model, fiber- and imaging-based DRS independently identified similar wavelengths that provided optimal contrast for nerve identification with an accuracy of 92%. Optical property measurements of rat and human cadaver tissues verify that the source of contrast between nerve and surrounding tissues is largely due to higher scattering in nerve and differences in

SUBMITTER: Throckmorton GA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10172349 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature