Custom Hyperspectral Imaging System Reveals Unique Spectral Signatures of Heart, Kidney, and Liver Tissues

The rapid advancement of diagnostic and therapeutic optical techniques for oncology demands a good understanding of the optical properties of biological tissues. This study explores the capabilities of hyperspectral (HS) cameras as a non-invasive and non-contact optical imaging system to distinguish and highlight spectral differences in biological soft tissues of three structures (kidney, heart, and liver) for use in endoscopic intervention or open surgery. The study presents an optical system consisting of two individual setups, the transmission setup, and the reflection setup, both incorporating an HS camera with a polychromatic light source within the range of 380 to 1050 nm to measure tissue's light transmission (Tr) and diffuse light reflectance (Rd), respectively. The optical system was calibrated with a customized liquid optical phantom, then 30 samples from various organs were investigated for tissue characterization by measuring both Tr and Rd at the visible and near infrared (VIS-NIR) band. We exploited the ANOVA test, subsequently by a Tukey's test on the created three independent clusters (kidney vs. heart: group I / kidney vs. liver: group II / heart vs. liver: group III) to identify the optimum wavelength for each tissue regarding their spectroscopic optical properties in the VIS-NIR spectrum. The optimum spectral span for the determined light Tr of the three groups was 640 ∼ 680 nm, and the ideal range was 720 ∼ 760 nm for the measured light Rd for mutual group I and group II. However, the group III range was different at a range of 520 ∼ 560 nm. Therefore, the investigation provides vital information concerning the optimum spectral scale for the computed light Tr and Rd of the investigated biological tissues (kidney, liver, and heart) to be employed in diagnostic and therapeutic medical applications. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.