Fiber ATR FTIR spectroscopy: towards in vivo studies

Duration of the project

01.06.2019. - 15.11.2019.

Countries and institutions involved in the project

flag-LT
Vilnius University
flag-DE
Dresden University of Technology

Aim of the project

One of the most crucial issues in tumor surgery is the determination of tumor margins with high spatial resolution, sensitivity and specificity while testing and preserving normal brain tissue. Reliable and fast identification of tumor margins both for early-stage tumors and early within the surgical process, i.e. prior to removal of potentially diseased tissue, is of particular importance during brain surgery but also for kidney tumors. Tumor identification is a key-issue for surgical treatment, however, it presents a central clinical challenge that can be generalized to all other surgical disciplines.

Currently there are different techniques available for intraoperative assessment of tumor margins: intraoperative CT, intraoperative MRI and electrophysiological monitoring. Among them, intraoperative MRI is probably the most used technique for cancer margin determination. However, clinical MRI scanners are very often limited to mm spatial resolution, the examination is time–consuming and the MRI setup is very expensive. Therefore, the current technology is neither fast nor reliable nor performed early within the surgical process implying that conventional tissue diagnostics at cellular resolution is only possible after irreversible tissue removal. Optical spectroscopy has the potential to determine tumor margins reliably and fast, early in the surgical process with higher spatial resolution and with functional capability to identify early-stage tissue alterations.

Additionally, during the meeting in Vilnius the German collaborators will give a set of lectures, seminars and practical exercises. This is a good opportunity for students and researches from Vilnius University to deepen their knowledge in biospectroscopy and tumor biology. What is more, the results of the current project will be disseminated to a wider target audience by Lithuanian and German project partners.

Speakers:

Prof. Dr. Gerald Steiner (TU Dresden) – Searching of spectral markers of cancerous tissues by means of unsupervised and supervised statistical methods

Prof. Valdas Šablinskas (Vilnius University) – Fiber ATR FTIR spectroscopy – towards in vivo studies.

Doctoral student Rimantė Bandzevičiūtė (Vilnius University) – Precission of determination of cancerous areas in kidney and brain tissues by menas of fiber ATR FTIR spectroscopy

Main activities of the project

  1. Fiber ATR FTIR experimental work with cancerous kidney tissue at Vilnius University 01.06.2019 – 20.10.2019
  2. Fiber ATR FTIR experimental work with cancerous brain tissue at Dresden Technical University  09.09.2019 – 30.09.2019
  3. Statistical analysis of the data at Dresden Technical University 01.08.2019 – 20.10.2019
  4. Interim meeting in TU–Dresden  11.09.2019 – 15.09.2019
  5. Lectures and final meeting at Vilnius University  07.10.2019 – 11.10.2019

Target group and number of persons involved

Direct: Vilnius University vibrational Spectroscopy group, TU-Dresden group. Approx. 20 persons

Indirect: Students and Researches at Vilnius University. Approx. 60 persons

Public events

Lectures at Vilnius University

10.10.2019 – 11.10.2019

Speakers: Prof. G. Steiner, prof. V. Sablinskas, Ph.d. student R. Bandzevičiūtė

Press release