Investigation of Barrett's esophagus by ultraviolet and visible fluorescence emission and excitation spectroscopy

In this work, ultraviolet and visible emission and excitation fluorescence spectroscopy was performed on excised human gastrointestinal tissue for the purpose of determining whether fluorescence measurements can be used to detect and monitor patients with Barrett's esophagus. Tissue samples were acquired from eleven esophagectomy patients. For each excised esophagus, spectral measurements were taken from multiple locations of normal, malignant and, when present, suspected Barrett's tissue. At each site scanned, a biopsy sample was removed for histopathology and the results were correlated with spectral measurements. Differences were observed in the spectra from Barrett's, normal, and malignant esophageal tissue. Initial results indicate that these differences in spectra can clearly distinguish normal, Barrett's and malignant tissue, and may allow in vivo optical detection of dysplasia in patients with Barrett's esophagus during endoscopic examinations.