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Publications

Publications by Luís Manuel Oliveira

2020

Lipofuscin-Type Pigment as a Marker of Colorectal Cancer

Authors
Carvalho, S; Carneiro, I; Henrique, R; Tuchin, V; Oliveira, L;

Publication
ELECTRONICS

Abstract
The study of the optical properties of biological tissues for a wide spectral range is necessary for the development and planning of noninvasive optical methods to be used in clinical practice. In this study, we propose a new method to calculate almost all optical properties of tissues as a function of wavelength directly from spectral measurements. Using this method, and with the exception of the reduced scattering coefficient, which was obtained by traditional simulation methods, all the other optical properties were calculated in a simple and fast manner for human and pathological colorectal tissues. The obtained results are in good agreement with previous published data, both in magnitude and in wavelength dependence. Since this method is based on spectral measurements and not on discrete-wavelength experimental data, the calculated optical properties contain spectral signatures that correspond to major tissue chromophores such as DNA and hemoglobin. Analysis of the absorption bands of hemoglobin in the wavelength dependence of the absorption spectra of normal and pathological colorectal mucosa allowed to identify differentiated accumulation of a pigment in these tissues. The increased content of this pigment in the pathological mucosa may be used for the future development of noninvasive diagnostic methods for colorectal cancer detection.

2020

Measurement of optical properties of normal and pathological human liver tissue from deep-UV to NIR

Authors
Carneiro, I; Carvalho, S; Henrique, R; Oliveira, L; Tuchin, VV;

Publication
TISSUE OPTICS AND PHOTONICS

Abstract
The interest of using light in clinical practice is increasing strongly and many applications work at various wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the infrared. Due to this great range of applications, the determination of the optical properties of biological tissues in a wide spectral range becomes of interest. The liver is an important organ, since it has a major role in the human body and various pathologies are known to develop within it. For these reasons, this study concerns the estimation of the optical properties of human normal and pathological (metastatic carcinoma) liver tissues between 200 and 1000 nm. The obtained optical properties present the expected wavelength dependencies for both tissues - the refractive index, the absorption and the scattering coefficients decrease with the wavelength and the anisotropy and light penetration depth increase with the wavelength. Although similar behavior was observed for the various properties between the normal and pathological tissues, evidence of smaller blood content in the pathological tissues was found. A possible explanation is that the cancer cells destroy liver's vasculature and internal architecture, providing though a reduction in the blood content. For low wavelengths, it was observed a matching between the scattering and the reduced scattering coefficients, which implies a nearly zero anisotropy in that range. The scattering coefficient decreases from nearly 140 cm(-1) (at 200 nm) to 80 cm(-1) (at 1000 nm) for the normal liver and from nearly 140 cm(-1) (at 200 nm) to 95 cm(-1) (at 1000 nm) for the pathological tissue.

2018

Optical properties of colorectal muscle in visible/NIR range

Authors
Carneiro, I; Carvalho, S; Henrique, R; Oliveira, LM; Tuchin, VV;

Publication
BIOPHOTONICS: PHOTONIC SOLUTIONS FOR BETTER HEALTH CARE VI

Abstract
Knowledge of the optical properties of tissues is necessary, since they change from tissue to tissue and can differ between normal and pathological conditions. These properties are used in light transport models with various areas of application. In general, tissues have significantly high scattering coefficient when compared to the absorption coefficient and such difference usually increases with decreasing wavelength. The study of the wavelength dependence of the optical properties has been already made for several animal and human tissues, but extensive research is still needed in this field. Considering that most of the Biophotonics techniques used in research and clinical practice use visible to NIR light, we have estimated the optical properties of colorectal muscle (muscularis propria) between 400 and 1000 nm. The samples used were collected from patients undergoing resection surgery for colorectal carcinoma. The estimated scattering coefficient for colorectal muscle decreases exponentially with wavelength from 122 cm(-1) at 400 nm to 95 cm(-1) at 650 nm and to 91 cm(-1) at 1000 nm. The absorption coefficient shows a wavelength dependence according to the behavior seen for other tissues, since it decreases from 8 cm(-1) at 400 nm to 2.6 cm(-1) at 650 nm and to 1.3 cm(-1) at 1000 nm. The estimated optical properties differ from the ones that we have previously obtained for normal and pathological colorectal mucosa. The data obtained in this study covers an extended spectral range and it can be used for planning optical clearing treatments for some wavelengths of interest.

2018

Kinetics of optical properties of human colorectal tissues during optical clearing: a comparative study between normal and pathological tissues

Authors
Carneiro, I; Carvelho, S; Silva, V; Henrique, R; Oliveira, L; Tuchin, VV;

Publication
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL OPTICS

Abstract
To characterize the optical clearing treatments in human colorectal tissues and possibly to differentiate between treatments of normal and pathological tissues, we have used a simple indirect method derived from Mie scattering theory to estimate the kinetics of the reduced scattering coefficient. A complementary method to estimate the kinetics of the scattering coefficient is also used so that the kinetics of the anisotropy factor and of the refractive index are also calculated. Both methods rely only on the thickness and collimated transmittance measurements made during treatment. The results indicate the expected time dependencies for the optical properties of both tissues: an increase in the refractive index and anisotropy factor and a decrease in the scattering coefficients. The similarity in the kinetics obtained for normal and pathological tissues indicates that optical clearing treatments can be applied also in pathological tissues to produce similar effects. The estimated time dependencies using experimental spectral data in the range from 400 to 1000 nm allowed us to compare the kinetics of the optical properties between different wavelengths. (C) 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

2019

Measuring optical properties of human liver between 400 and 1000 nm

Authors
Carneiro, I; Carvalho, S; Henrique, R; Oliveira, L; Tuchin, VV;

Publication
QUANTUM ELECTRONICS

Abstract
Laser diagnostics and treatment procedures are commonly performed for visible and near-IR wavelengths. The knowledge of the wavelength dependences for the optical properties of various biological tissues in this spectral range is useful for clinical applications. Since the optical properties of human liver have been previously known only for near-IR wavelengths, the aim is to estimate their wavelength dependences between 400 and 1000 nm. Using spectral measurements from liver samples in this range, we determine their optical properties with the inverse adding-doubling method. The obtained results indicate the presence of bile, oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin in human liver. The combination of these biological components results in strong absorption for wavelengths between 400 and 600 nm, with peaks at unusual wavelengths. For wavelengths above 600 nm, the wavelength dependences for all optical properties present the typical behavior, but strong and shifted absorption observed for wavelengths below 600 nm has been previously unknown and can be useful for clinical procedures with lasers working in this range.

2021

Spectral Optical Properties of Rabbit Brain Cortex between 200 and 1000 nm

Authors
Gonçalves, TM; Martins, IS; Silva, HF; Tuchin, VV; Oliveira, LM;

Publication
Photochem

Abstract
The knowledge of the optical properties of biological tissues in a wide spectral range is highly important for the development of noninvasive diagnostic or treatment procedures. The absorption coefficient is one of those properties, from which various information about tissue components can be retrieved. Using transmittance and reflectance spectral measurements acquired from ex vivo rabbit brain cortex samples allowed to calculate its optical properties in the ultraviolet to the near infrared spectral range. Melanin and lipofuscin, the two pigments that are related to the aging of tissues and cells were identified in the cortex absorption. By subtracting the absorption of these pigments from the absorption of the brain cortex, it was possible to evaluate the true ratios for the DNA/RNA and hemoglobin bands in the cortex—12.33-fold (at 260 nm), 12.02-fold (at 411 nm) and 4.47-fold (at 555 nm). Since melanin and lipofuscin accumulation increases with the aging of the brain tissues and are related to the degeneration of neurons and their death, further studies should be performed to evaluate the evolution of pigment accumulation in the brain, so that new optical methods can be developed to aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of brain diseases.

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