Detection of colon cancer stages via fractal dimension analysis of optical transmission imaging of tissue microarrays (TMA)

Abstract

Cancer is an epidemic worldwide. At present one in four persons has cancer and this statistic will change to one in a two person in the near future. It is now known that war against cancer is the early, curable detection and treatment. Affordable, quick and easy detection methods are, therefore, essential. Standard pathologist way of detecting cancer is looking at the stained biopsy tissue samples under microscope, brings lots of human error. A tissue is a spatial heterogeneous medium and it has fractal properties due to its self-similarity in mass distribution. It is now known that with the progress of cancer the tissue heterogeneity changes due to more mass accumulations and rearrangement of intracellular macromolecules such as DNA and lipids etc. Furthermore, there are tissue micro array (TMA) samples available that provides array of hundred samples in one glass slides. In this study, using reflectance microscopy we have analyzed the fractal dimension of 5µm colon TMA samples to correctly distinguish between normal, adjacent to cancer, benign, stage-1 and stage-2 colon cancers. This fractal property of the tissues is also supported by entropy and spatial correlation calculations. The application of this method for diagnostic applications is also discussed.

Fractal analysis of concurrently prepared latex rubber casts of the bronchial and vascular systems of the human lung

“…For the bronchial system, which has been investigated to a greater extent compared with the vascular system, the D F values range from 1.75 to 3.098. Also, differences exist between the D F values of the human lung and those of the lungs of non-human vertebrates and other branched natural structures [88][89][90]92,102,119,122,123] (table 5). Morphological differences, variations of the methods of the preparation of the formations on which measurements are made, the ordering method employed to classify the branches and the mathematical models used to determine/calculate D F may account for the variations.…”

“…Designated as 'the geometry of life' [5] and 'the fourth dimension of life' [94], FG is a heuristic understanding of the basis of the designs of complex biological structures [5,30,73,74,95,96]. It has found important applications in different areas of medicine such as tissue and organ engineering [97], and quantitative differentiation of normal from diseased and pathological tissues [33,36,[98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105]. Hughes [20] noted that disease is a consequence of change from optimal design; in fatal asthma cases, Boser et al [106] observed a significant decrease of the D F which they ascribed to a decrease in the extent of space-filling of the branches of the airways; Mauroy et al [107] pointed out that during asthmatic attacks, bronchial malfunction stems from the unoptimized structure of the pulmonary bronchial tree; Liew et al [108] and Gould et al [109] reported that suboptimal space-filling architecture causes organs to perform poorly and the best performance of a space-filling structure emanates from a balance between under-exploitation and over-exploitation of the blood-gas barrier by the oxygen molecules; and King et al [110] stated that in cases of Alzheimer's disease, D F (which is a measure of the functional connectivity of the neurons in the brain) decreases as the condition progresses clinically.…”

Practical implementation analysis of the fractal dimension calculating algorithm for the medical images by the example of neutrophil nuclei

“…One of the numerical methods to process nonlinear images, including medical images, is estimating their fractal dimension [4,5]. This method is actively used both in Russia and internationally [6][7][8][9][10]. However, to our knowledge, there has not been any research on utilizing fractal analysis for neutrophil images, which can testify the relevance of this study.…”

Electrochemical Evaluation of Tumor Development via Cellular Interface Supported CRISPR/Cas Trans-Cleavage

“…Currently, the optical visualization of stained biopsy specimens is still the main diagnostic method in clinic trial. However, such technique is invasive and easily leads to human error and misdiagnosis [ 1 ]. Meanwhile, intratumor heterogeneity brings the obstacle for the precise characterization of the developing stage of cancer [ 1 , 2 ].…”

“…However, such technique is invasive and easily leads to human error and misdiagnosis [ 1 ]. Meanwhile, intratumor heterogeneity brings the obstacle for the precise characterization of the developing stage of cancer [ 1 , 2 ]. Although some other techniques, such as screening mammography [ 3 ], magnetic resonance imaging [ 4 ], and technicium-99 radiocolloid lymphatic mapping [ 5 ], have also been utilized to identify different stages of the corresponding cancer, these techniques have radiation damage to patients.…”