NIR-Dx: advancing breast cancer diagnosis with multiwavelength near-infrared optical scattering spectroscopy probe

Rapid and accurate breast cancer diagnosis during breast conservation surgery (BCS) poses a significant challenge to clinicians worldwide. The biopsy-based histopathological study is the current gold standard for accurate breast cancer diagnosis. However, it is time-consuming and can lead to complications due to delay, ultimately increasing morbidity and mortality rates [1]. Near-infrared Optical Scattering Spectroscopy (NIR-OSS) is a point-based technology that uses a light source to scan the excised breast tissue sample and a photodetector to detect the diffuse reflectance from the tissue sample. This technique can potentially be used for breast cancer diagnosis by using the light scattering property to characterize the microstructure and composition of tissue samples, which can provide information about the presence of various cancer biomarkers such as collagen, protein, water, and lipids [2]. The affordable NIR-Dx probe presented in this work can potentially become an alternative assessment tool for rapid cancer diagnosis during the histopathological study of the excised breast tissue sample and can potentially aid pathologists in making rapid breast cancer diagnosis. Additionally, the NIR-OSS technology-based NIR-Dx probe can quantify the scattering properties of tissue and distinguish between malignant and adjacent normal tissues [3]. However, further studies are required to clinically validate NIR-Dx on a large sample cohort. This pilot study uses a multiwavelength light-emitting diode (LED)-based handheld probe to delineate adjacent normal and cancerous regions over the tissue based on the diffuse reflection.