Differentiation of malignant from benign thyroid nodules using photoacoustic spectral response: A preclinical study

Abstract

Thyroid nodule (TN), a discrete palpable swelling of the thyroid gland, is prevalent among 8% of the adult population. The important concern with these nodules is the differentiation between benign and malignant ones. Since conventional diagnostic techniques (e.g., ultrasound) are not accurate in diagnosis, clinical surgeons adopt to excision biopsy, a golden standard, which requires surgery and removal of the gland. We propose to apply Photoacoustic Spectral Response (PASR), a non-invasive and elasticity based diagnostic technique, onto TN for malignancy diagnosis. In this study, time domain photoacoustic signals were acquired through custom built experimental setup inside the surgical theatre and spectral information were obtained through signal processing. PA spectra could distinguish Follicular Variant of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (a thyroid cancer) from the other tissues with a high accuracy which an important challenge in conventional diagnostic techniques. Further, other tissue variants were also successfully differentiated through signal decomposition in a quantitative manner. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.