Detection of colonic malignant lesions by digital imaging of UV laser-induced autofluorescence

The objective of our study was to investigate whether digital imaging of autofluorescence could be applied in the detection of colonic malignancies. Autofluorescence was excited with a 325 nm line from a He-Cd laser. Images were recorded in vitro in six spectral bands. The material for study was 50 resected specimens for which images of 64 areas were recorded. The main result is the observation that for a majority of malignant and premalignant lesions the intensity of autofluorescence was lower than for the corresponding normal mucosa in all of the spectral bands selected for imaging. The spectral bands centered around 440 nm and 475 nm seem to be most promising in terms of possible future clinical applications.