A spectroscopy based procedure for in-vivo detection of liver metastasis in a rat model.

This report focuses on the diagnosis of metastases affecting the liver of an animal model through a fiber-optic probe delivering visible light and the analysis through the Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy. The metastases induction was limited to the right lobes of the liver, with the uncontaminated lobes of the same animal used as healthy control. The experiments were performed either on explanted organs or in vivo, on anaesthetised animals. The analysis of the reflectance intensities showed broad differences between the metastasis and the control. From both situations a panel of diagnostic wavelengths was argued, upon considering the specificity of the respective spectrum profile: 470 ÷ 480 nm, 485 ÷ 495 nm, 626 ÷ 632 nm and 636 ÷ 640 nm, plus smaller intervals centred at 500 nm and 535 nm. As consequence, we suggest that this probe configuration could be worthy of being further developed as a diagnostic tool.