Multimodal snapshot spectral imaging for oral cancer diagnostics: a pilot study

Optical imaging and spectroscopy have emerged as effective tools for detecting malignant changes associated with oral cancer. While clinical studies have demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for detection, current devices either interrogate a small region or can have reduced performance for some benign lesions. We describe a snapshot imaging spectrometer that combines the large field-of-view of widefield imaging with the diagnostic strength of spectroscopy. The portable device can stream RGB images at 7.2 frames per second and record both autofluorescence and reflectance spectral datacubes in < 1 second. We report initial data from normal volunteers and oral cancer patients.