Effect of thermal damage on the in vitro optical and fluorescence characteristics of liver tissues

Thermal energy generated by radio-frequency current or other means may be employed in treating liver tumors by means of thermal coagulation when conventional resection is impossible. Currently, these thermal energy-based therapeutic procedures suffer from the lack of an adequate feedback control system, making it difficult to determine the optimal therapeutic endpoint. In this study, the potential of optical spectroscopy to provide such an objective endpoint for these procedures is presented. Freshly harvested canine liver samples were exposed to 50°C, 60°C, and 70°C water baths for times ranging from 0 to 60 min. Transmission and reflectance were measured from each sample using an integrating sphere and the optical properties of each sample were accordingly derived. Excitation-emission matrices were recorded from the samples using a spectrofluorometer to identify the intrinsic fluorescence characteristics of native and thermally coagulated liver tissues. In addition, fluorescence and diffuse reflectance spectra were separately obtained from the samples prepared using a portable spectroscopic system. Results of this study show that fluorescence and optical properties of liver tissues exhibit clear and consistent changes through the thermal coagulation process. Specifically, the primary peak in the fluorescence spectra from liver tissues shifts from 480 nm in the native state to 510 nm in the fully coagulated state. In addition, a three- to fourfold increase in the absolute intensity of the diffuse reflectance spectra is observed upon complete coagulation of liver tissues. These dynamic spectral features indicate that fluorescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy may provide a direct measure of the biochemical and structural changes associated with tissue thermal damage in the liver.