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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
In Vivo, Percutaneous, Needle Based, Optical Coherence Tomography of Renal Masses
Published on: March 30, 2015
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography for renal tumor detection in ex vivo human kidneys
Feng Yan1, Chen Wang1, Yuyang Yan1
1Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.
Abstract:
Kidney cancer is a kind of high mortality cancer because of the difficulty in early diagnosis and the high metastatic dissemination in treatments. The surgical resection of tumors is the most effective treatment for renal cancer patients. However, precise assessment of tumor margins is a challenge during surgical resection. The objective of this study is to demonstrate an optical imaging tool in precisely distinguishing kidney tumor borders and identifying tumor zones from normal tissues to assist surgeons in accurately resecting tumors from kidneys during the surgery. 30 samples from six human kidneys were imaged using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT). Cross-sectional, enface, and spatial information of kidney samples were obtained for microenvironment reconstruction. Polarization parameters (phase retardation, optic axis direction, and degree of polarization uniformity (DOPU) and Stokes parameters (Q, U, and V) were utilized for multi-parameter analysis. To verify the detection accuracy of PS-OCT, H&E histology staining and dice-coefficient was utilized to quantify the performance of PS-OCT in identifying tumor borders and regions. In this study, tumor borders were clearly identified by PS-OCT imaging, which outperformed the conventional intensity-based OCT. With H&E histological staining as golden standard, PS-OCT precisely identified the tumor regions and tissue distributions at different locations and different depths based on polarization and Stokes parameters. Compared to the traditional attenuation coefficient quantification method, PS-OCT demonstrated enhanced contrast of tissue characteristics between normal and cancerous tissues due to the birefringence effects. Our results demonstrated that PS-OCT was promising to provide imaging guidance for the surgical resection of kidney tumors and had the potential to be used for other human kidney surgeries in clinics such as renal biopsy.
Insights
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) precisely identifies kidney tumor borders, aiding surgeons in accurate tumor resection. This advanced imaging tool enhances visualization of cancerous tissues over conventional methods.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Optics
- Surgical Imaging
- Oncology
Background:
- Kidney cancer poses a high mortality risk due to challenges in early diagnosis and treatment.
- Surgical resection is the primary treatment, but precise tumor margin assessment remains difficult.
- Accurate identification of tumor borders is crucial for effective surgical intervention in renal cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate an optical imaging tool for precise distinction of kidney tumor borders.
- To identify tumor zones from normal kidney tissues to assist surgeons during resection.
- To evaluate the efficacy of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) in surgical guidance.
Main Methods:
- 30 human kidney samples were imaged using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT).
- Analysis involved polarization parameters (phase retardation, optic axis direction, DOPU) and Stokes parameters (Q, U, V).
- PS-OCT performance was verified against H&E histology staining and quantified using the dice-coefficient.
Main Results:
- PS-OCT clearly identified tumor borders, outperforming conventional intensity-based OCT.
- The technique precisely delineated tumor regions and tissue distributions at various depths.
- PS-OCT demonstrated enhanced contrast between normal and cancerous tissues due to birefringence.
Conclusions:
- PS-OCT shows significant promise for providing real-time imaging guidance during kidney tumor resection.
- The technology offers superior visualization of tumor margins compared to traditional methods.
- PS-OCT has potential applications in other clinical kidney surgeries, including renal biopsy.
