Title:Raman Spectroscopy and Imaging: Promising Optical Diagnostic Tools in Pediatrics
Volume: 20
Issue: 17
Author(s): C. Beleites, A. Bonifacio, D. Codrich, C. Krafft and V. Sergo
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Diagnosis, imaging, mapping, raman, spectroscopy.
Abstract: This review focuses on the use of Raman spectroscopy, an analytical technique based on the inelastic scattering
of harmless laser light with biological tissues, as an innovative diagnostic tool in pediatrics. After a brief introduction to
explain the fundamental concepts behind Raman spectroscopy and imaging, a short summary is given of the most important
and common issues arising when handling spectral data with multivariate statistics. Then, the most relevant papers in
which Raman spectroscopy or imaging has been applied with diagnostic purposes to pediatric patients are reviewed, and
grouped according to the type of pathology: neoplastic, inflammatory, allergic, malformative as well as other kinds. Raman
spectroscopy has been used both in vivo, mostly using optical fibers for tissue illumination, as well as on ex vivo
tissue sections in a microscopic imaging approach defined as “spectral histopathology”. According to the results reported
so far, this technique showed a huge potential for mini- or non-invasive real-time, bedside and intra-operatory diagnosis,
as well as for an ex vivo imaging tool in support to pathologists. Despite many studies are limited by the small sample
size, this technique is extremely promising in terms of sensitivity and specificity.
