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Edge detection on terahertz pulse imaging of dehydrated cutaneous malignant melanoma embedded in paraffin

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Abstract

Terahertz pulse imaging of cutaneous malignant melanoma dehydrated by ethanol and embedded in paraffin was carried out across a frequency range of 0.2–1.4 THz. First, the tissue images based on the time-domain electric-field amplitude information were acquired. Then the areas of normal and cancerous tissues were determined using multi-scale, multi-azimuth and multi-structural element mathematical morphology. The physical meaning of the image was analyzed by calculation of the refractive index and absorption coefficient of cutaneous malignant melanoma in different areas. The refractive index of both normal and cancerous tissues showed anomalous dispersion. The refractive index of cancerous tissues tended to vary between 0.2 and 0.7 THz, while that of normal and fat tissues remain almost unchanged. The absorption of cancerous tissues was higher, with a maximum at 0.37 THz. We concluded that both the refractive index and absorption coefficient differ considerably between normal and cancerous tissues, and the areas of normal and abnormal tissues can be identified using THz pulse imaging combined with mathematical morphology. The method for edge detection of terahertz pulse imaging of cutaneous malignant melanoma provides a reference for the safe surgical removal of malignant tumors.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61371055).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Optics, Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Jiayu Li, Yijun Xie & Ping Sun

Authors
  1. Jiayu Li
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  2. Yijun Xie
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  3. Ping Sun
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Correspondence to Ping Sun.

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Ping Sun got bachelor degree of physics at Jilin University. In 2000, he got master degree of optics engineering at Beijing Institute of Technology. In 2004, he got Ph.D. degree of optics engineering at Beijing Institute of Technology. His research area includes biological photonics, digital holography and spectroscopy. His present work focus on the terahertz spectroscopy and imaging.

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Li, J., Xie, Y. & Sun, P. Edge detection on terahertz pulse imaging of dehydrated cutaneous malignant melanoma embedded in paraffin. Front. Optoelectron. 12, 317–323 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-019-0861-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-019-0861-1

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