INSTRUMENT CHANNEL FIBEROPTIC SPECTROSCOPY FOR GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY

THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP A SPECTROSCOPE SUITABLE FOR USE WITH GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY. THE SPECTROSCOPE DESIGN WILL UTILIZE A HIGH-INTENSITY LIGHT SOURCE COUPLED TO ONE OF TWO OPTICALLY ISOLATED QUARTZ LIGHT GUIDES IN A SHEATHED FIBEROPTIC BUNDLE. THE INSTRUMENT CHANNEL OF ANY COMMERCIAL ENDOSCOPE WILL SERVE TO GUIDE THIS FIBEROPTIC BUNDLE TO THE AREA BEINGEVALUATED. THE REFLECTED OR FLUORESCENT LIGHT FROM THE ILLUMINATED TISSUE WILL BE GUIDED UP THE SECOND LIGHT GUIDE OF THE FIBEROPTIC BUNDLE AND BACK TO THE SPECTROSCOPE WHERE IT WILL BE DISPERSED ONTO A LINEAR CCD ARRAY DETECTOR. SUBSEQUENT MICROCOMPUTER SPECTRAL ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON WITH STORED DATABASE STANDARDS WILL PROVIDE RAPID IN VIVO QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF NATURAL FLUOROPHORS, ADMINISTEREDLOCALIZING FLUOROPHORS, AND/OR THE TONE, HUE, AND SATURATION(COLOR) OF TISSUE. THESE ANALYTICAL METHODOLOGIES HAVE SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE QUANTIFICATION OF TISSUE INFLAMMATION AND/OR EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF GASTROINTESTINAL TUMORS AND POLYPS. THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL CONSIST OF THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND TESTING OF A "BREADBOARD" SPECTROSCOPE SUITABLE FOR EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS OF THE PROPOSED INSTRUMENT. DESIGN PARAMETERS WILL BE STUDIED AND COMPUTER-MODELED TO ACHIEVE OPTIMUM SENSITIVITY, RESOLUTION, REPRODUCIBILITY, AND SIGNAL TO NOISE. THE LIMITATIONS AND CAPABILITIES OF THE PROPOSED METHODOLOGY WILL BE ASSESSED TO EVALUATE THE TECHNICAL MERIT AND FEASIBILITY OF THE PROPOSED APPROACH.