National Research Council of Canada

Michael Jackson

Henry H Mantsch

James Mansfield

Henry Mantsch, Ii

A Neil Crowson

John W P Toole

Laura M McIntosh

Hans H Eysel

A non-invasive tool for skin disease diagnosis would be a useful clinical adjunct. The purpose of this study was to determine whether visible/near-infrared spectroscopy can be used to non-invasively characterize skin diseases. In-vivo visible- and near-infrared spectra (400-2500 nm) of skin neoplasms (actinic keratoses, basal cell carcinomata, banal common acquired melanocytic nevi, dysplastic melanocytic nevi, actinic lentigines and seborrheic keratoses) were collected by placing a fiber optic probe on the skin. Paired t-tests, repeated measures analysis of variance and linear discriminant analysis were used to determine whether significant spectral differences existed and whether spectra could be classified according to lesion type. Paired t-tests showed significant differences (p&#x3c;0.05) between normal skin and skin lesions in several areas of the visible/near-infrared spectrum. In addition, significant differences were found between the lesion groups by analysis of variance. Linear discriminant analysis classified spectra from benign lesions compared to pre-malignant or malignant lesions with high accuracy. Visible/near-infrared spectroscopy is a promising non-invasive technique for the screening of skin diseases.

Non-invasive screening of skin diseases by visible/near-infrared spectroscopy

Differences in the physical and chemical properties of synovial fluid from healthy and arthritic joints are detected by infrared spectroscopy. A beam of infrared light is directed at a sample of synovial fluid (either in its native form or prepared as a film) and changes in the physical and chemical properties of the fluid being analyzed are detected at one or more wavelengths to determine whether changes in the position, width, absolute intensity, relative intensity or shape of the infrared absorption have occurred which are characteristic of the arthritic condition.

Method for diagnosing arthritic disorders by infrared spectroscopy

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Michael Jackson