Visible and near-infrared spectroscopic method for correlative joint tissue analysis and visual and histologic...

Visible near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy is an analytical modality being investigated for non-destructive compositional assessment of musculoskeletal tissues, with recent work focused on development to enhance arthroscopic diagnostics. In this context, a primary objective is validation of the approach with histological grading which entails 1. Collection of hundreds of spectra from regions of joint cartilage in various degradation states followed by 2. Gold standard tissue histological grading, and 3. Correlative analysis of those data sets. A significant related challenge is spatial identification of regions of VNIR spectra collection from intact tissue segments and subsequent precision matching of those regions to guide locations for histological grading. Through establishing robust data sets, improved multivariate models can be developed for optical spectroscopic data-guided cartilage diagnostics. The method described here proposes a strategy to support this essential aspect of data collection required to advance the VNIR modality for arthroscopic use and includes guidance for the following: •Collection of VNIR spectra from human joint tissues after surgical tissue excision as part of arthroplasty surgery •Association of collected spectra with tissue spatial location and identification of locations for histology grading •Correlative multivariate analysis of VNIR spectra with corresponding histologic grade.