Classification of thyroid nodules using a resonance-frequency-based electrical impedance spectroscopy: progress assessment

Abstract

The incidence of thyroid cancer is rising faster than other malignancies and has nearly doubled in the United States (U.S.) in the last 30 years. However, classifying between malignant and benign thyroid nodules is often difficult. Although ultrasound guided Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNAB) is considered an excellent tool for triaging patients, up to 25% of FNABs are inconclusive. As a result, definitive diagnosis requires "an exploratory surgery" and a large number of these are performed in the U.S. annually. It would be extremely beneficial to develop a non-invasive tool or procedure that could assist in assessing the likelihood of malignancy of otherwise indeterminate thyroid nodules, thereby reducing the number of "exploratory" thyroidectomies that are performed under general anesthesia. In this preliminary study we demonstrate a unique hand-held Resonance-frequency based Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (REIS) device with six pairs of detection probes to detect and classify thyroid nodules using multi-channel EIS output signal sweeps. Under an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved case collection protocol, this REIS device is being tested in our clinical facility and we have been collecting an initial patient data set since March of this year. Between March and August of 2011, 65 EIS tests were conducted on 65 patients. Among these cases, six depicted pathology-verified malignant cells. Our initial assessment indicates the feasibility of easily applying this REIS device and measurement approach in a very busy clinical setting. The measured resonance frequency differences between malignant and benign nodules could potentially make it possible to accurately classify indeterminate thyroid nodules.