Terahertz (THz) waves are electromagnetic waves with frequency in the range from 0.1 to 10 THz. THz waves have great potential in the biomedical field, especially in cancer diagnosis, because they exhibit low ionization energy and can be used to discern most biomolecules based on their spectral fingerprints. In this paper, we review the recent progress in two applications of THz waves in cancer diagnosis: imaging and spectroscopy. THz imaging is expected to help researchers and doctors attain a direct intuitive understanding of a cancerous area. THz spectroscopy is an efficient tool for component analysis of tissue samples to identify cancer biomarkers. Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of the developed technologies for cancer diagnosis are discussed. Furthermore, auxiliary techniques that have been used to enhance the spectral signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are also reviewed.

Yan Peng

Chenjun Shi

Xu Wu

Yiming Zhu

Songlin Zhuang

Terahertz Imaging and Spectroscopy in Cancer Diagnostics: A Technical Review

In an age where digitization is widespread in clinical and preclinical workflows, pathology is still predominantly practiced by microscopic evaluation of stained tissue specimens affixed on glass slides. Over the last decade, new high throughput digital scanning microscopes have ushered in the era of digital pathology that, along with recent advances in machine vision, have opened up new possibilities for Computer-Aided-Diagnoses. Despite these advances, the high infrastructural costs related to digital pathology and the perception that the digitization process is an additional and nondirectly reimbursable step have challenged its widespread adoption. Here, we discuss how emerging virtual staining technologies and machine learning can help to disrupt the standard histopathology workflow and create new avenues for the diagnostic paradigm that will benefit patients and healthcare systems alike via digital pathology.

Yair Rivenson

Kevin de Haan

W. Dean Wallace

Aydogan Ozcan

Emerging Advances to Transform Histopathology Using Virtual Staining

Objective. The goal is to increase the precision of radiation delivery during radiotherapy by tracking the movements of the tumor and other surrounding normal tissues due to respiratory and other body motions. Introduction. This work presents the recent advancement of X-ray-induced radiation acoustic imaging (xRAI) technology and the evaluation of its feasibility for real-time monitoring of geometric and morphological misalignments of the X-ray field with respect to the target tissue by combining xRAI with established ultrasound (US) imaging, thereby improving radiotherapy tumor eradication and limiting treatment side effects. Methods. An integrated xRAI and B-mode US dual-modality system was established based on a clinic-ready research US platform. The performance of this dual-modality imaging system was evaluated via experiments on phantoms and ex vivo and in vivo rabbit liver models. Results. This system can alternatively switch between the xRAI and the US modes, with spatial resolutions of 1.1&#x2009;mm and 0.37&#x2009;mm, respectively. 300 times signal averaging was required for xRAI to reach a satisfactory signal-to-noise ratio, and a frame rate of 1.1&#x2009;Hz was achieved with a clinical linear accelerator. The US imaging frame rate was 22&#x2009;Hz, which is sufficient for real-time monitoring of the displacement of the target due to internal body motion. Conclusion. Our developed xRAI, in combination with US imaging, allows for mapping of the dose deposition in biological samples in vivo, in real-time, during radiotherapy. Impact Statement. The US-based image-guided radiotherapy system presented in this work holds great potential for personalized cancer treatment and better outcomes.

Wei Zhang

Ibrahim Oraiqat

Hao Lei

Paul L. Carson

Issam EI Naqa

Xueding Wang

Dual-Modality X-Ray-Induced Radiation Acoustic and Ultrasound Imaging for Real-Time Monitoring of Radiotherapy

Xingde Li

Guoqi Zhang

Yuguo Tang

BME Frontiers: A Platform for Engineering the Future of Biomedicine

About this journal

The open access journal BME Frontiers, published in association with SIBET CAS, is a platform for the multidisciplinary community of biomedical engineering, publishing wide-ranging research in the field.

Journal profile

Meet the editorial board

BME Frontiers' editorial board is led by Xingde Li&nbsp;(Johns Hopkins University), Yuguo Tang&nbsp;(Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology), and&nbsp;Guoqi Zhang&nbsp;(Delft University of Technology) and is comprised of leading experts in the field of biomedical engineering.

Editorial board

More special issue details

BME Frontiers is now considering submissions for its first&nbsp; 
special issue:

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<a href="https://spj.sciencemag.org/bme-frontiers-special-issues/advanced-optical-imaging/">Advanced Optical Imaging for Biomedicine</a>

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Deadline extended to October 30th