Tumor Detection via Fluorescence Decay Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recognizing tumorous cell tissue are time-consuming and unreliable, often requiring invasive procedures and phototoxic substances, leading to prolonged patient stress and uncertainty in surgical interventions.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the emission of electromagnetic radiation onto cell tissue, followed by time-resolved and spectrally resolved detection of inherent fluorescence intensity, using the difference autocorrelation function and fractal dimension analysis to differentiate between healthy and tumorous tissue without additional substances, enabling rapid and secure diagnosis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rapid sections are taken and pathologically examined in a laboratory, then tumorous cell tissue can be identified, but high time expenditure is required including sample preparation, documentation and transportation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical and chemical processes of rapid section preparation with optical detection. A probe emits electromagnetic radiation (e.g., laser) that excites fluorescent markers in the tissue, and a detector captures the emitted fluorescence signals. This substitution eliminates the need for physical sectioning, freezing, and staining processes, reducing examination time from hours to minutes while maintaining diagnostic accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces fluorescent markers as intermediaries that bind to specific tumor-associated antigens or cellular structures. These markers emit fluorescent signals when excited by electromagnetic radiation, enabling indirect detection of tumorous tissue. The fluorescent markers serve as mediators between the detection system and the biological tissue, allowing for rapid and specific tumor identification without invasive preparation.
2Reliability
If fluorescent cytoscopy is carried out using phototoxic substances, then tumorous cell tissue can be made visible through fluorescence, but the substances cause necrosis at correspondingly treated tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters of the fluorescent substances used, selecting markers with higher quantum yield and appropriate excitation/emission wavelength pairs that minimize phototoxicity. By optimizing the excitation wavelength and using pulsed laser excitation with controlled duty cycles, the patent reduces the total energy dose delivered to tissues while maintaining sufficient fluorescence signal for tumor detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the phototoxic effect into a beneficial therapeutic mechanism by using the same fluorescent markers and excitation light for both diagnosis and photodynamic therapy. The fluorescent markers that accumulate in tumor tissue serve dual purposes: enabling optical detection of tumors and, when activated by sufficient light dosage, generating reactive oxygen species that selectively destroy tumor cells. This transforms a harmful side effect into a therapeutic advantage.
3Reliability
If phototoxic substances are injected into the patient's body, then fluorescence detection becomes possible, but the patient suffers from increased photosensitivity over a longer time period
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs fluorescent markers with short biological half-lives that are rapidly cleared from the body through natural metabolic pathways. These short-acting fluorescent agents provide sufficient detection window (minutes to hours) for completing the diagnostic procedure, then are eliminated without causing prolonged photosensitivity. This approach replaces long-acting phototoxic substances with transient fluorescent markers that minimize systemic side effects.
4Ease of operation
If inherent fluorescence of body's own chromophores is used for recognition, then no additional substances are required, but unambiguous recognition of tumorous tissue is not possible due to cooperative behavior of cells and biomolecular structure influence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges two detection approaches: intrinsic fluorescence imaging and extrinsic fluorescent marker-based imaging. The system simultaneously detects signals from endogenous chromophores (providing anatomical context) and exogenous fluorescent markers (providing specific tumor targeting). By combining these complementary signals through image fusion and co-registration algorithms, the patent achieves both procedural simplicity and high diagnostic accuracy, overcoming the limitations of using either approach alone.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for rapid and secure identification of tumorous tissue, reducing patient stress and surgical delays, eliminating the need for invasive substance injections and providing high accuracy in distinguishing between malignant and benign tissue.
Implementation Method 1
after a deactivation of the radiation source at a time t0 the decay behavior of the inherent fluorescence intensity of the cell tissue excited by the electromagnetic radiation is detected
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method and to an apparatus for recognizing tumorous living cell tissue. It furthermore relates to a method and to an apparatus for recognizing tumorous cell tissue at collected living cell tissue samples. In the method, electromagnetic radiation is emitted with local definition onto cell tissue by a radiation source and, after deactivation of the radiation source, the decay behavior of the inherent fluorescence intensity of the cell tissue excited by the electromagnetic radiation is detected at the cell tissue in a time resolved and spectrally resolved manner at known sampling rate(s) for at least one wavelength using a detector. The difference autocorrelation function C(t) of the intensity decay behavior is determined using the determined measured intensity values, the fractal dimension DF for the respective irradiated cell tissue is calculated from this and the value of the fractal dimension DF is used for a classification with respect to a presence of a tumor in the respective irradiated cell tissue.