Reflectance spectroscopy for diagnosis of epithelial precancer: model-based analysis of fiber-optic probe designs to resolve spectral information from epithelium and stroma

Reflectance spectroscopy is a promising technology for detection of epithelial precancer. Fiber-optic probes that selectively collect scattered light from both the epithelium and the underlying stroma are likely to improve diagnostic performance of in vivo reflectance spectroscopy by revealing diagnostic features unique to each layer. We present Monte Carlo models with which to evaluate fiber-optic probe geometries with respect to sampling depth and depth resolution. We propose a probe design that utilizes half-ball lens coupled source and detector fibers to isolate epithelial scattering from stromal scattering and hence to resolve spectral information from the two layers. The probe is extremely compact and can provide easy access to different organ sites.