Near-infrared diffuse optical characterization of human thyroid using ultrasound-guided hybrid time-domain and diffuse correlation spectroscopies

Pablo Fernández Estéberena*, Lorenzo Cortese, Marta Zanoletti, Giuseppe Lo Presti, Gloria Aranda Velazquez, Sabina Ruiz Janer, Mauro Buttafava, Marco Renna, Laura D. Di Sieno, Alberto Tosi, Alberto Dalla Mora, Stanisław Wojtkiewicz, Hamid Dehghani, Sixte de Fraguier, An Nguyen-Dinh, Bogdan Rosinski, Udo M. Weigel, Dibya J. Sarangi, Mattia Squarcia, Felicia A. HanzuDavide Contini, Mireia Mora Porta, Turgut Durduran

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Thyroid vascularization and hemodynamics become altered in thyroid pathologies and could thus inform diagnostics, therapy planning, and follow-up. However, the current non-invasive monitoring methods available in clinics lack the necessary sensitivity and/or are impractical for large-scale deployment. As a step towards proposing a new modality, we applied the first platform, to our knowledge, designed to do simultaneous measurements of neck anatomy and thyroid microvascular hemodynamics and metabolism in a single probe placement, integrating state-of-the-art near-infrared spectroscopy techniques and clinical ultrasound. A rich dataset was formed with sixty-five subjects (forty-eight females), including eighteen healthy volunteers and forty-seven patients with thyroid nodules, characterizing thyroid tissue and the effects of demographic and anatomical variables while preserving the standard clinical workflow. We have found marked reductions with age and body mass index in thyroid total hemoglobin concentration (THC), tissue oxygen saturation (StO2), and blood flow index (BFi), among others. Patients showed lower THC and BFi than healthy subjects, and the limited sample of malignant nodules showed a higher StO2 than the benign. These findings support the need for personalized clinical approaches.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7035-7055
Number of pages21
JournalBiomedical Optics Express
Volume15
Issue number12
Early online date26 Nov 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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