Exploration of in vivo Effect Assessment Factor Monitoring by Near-infrared Spectroscopy during LITT

Monitoring LITT thermal penetration depth using real‐time analysis of backscattered light

“…The scattering coefficient of the coagulated tissue layer was increased linearly, respective to the increase in the coagulated layer's thickness. This was shown in the works of Gannot et al and Ai-ping Qian et al [3,10].…”

“…This might seem to suggest that the scattering coefficient should be estimated in addition to the TPD (as nuisance parameter) to negate the strong dependence of these measure in it. However, it was shown that for the LITT process, the scattering coefficient itself has a strong positive correlation to the TPD [3,4,10]. This shows, at least on pure theoretical grounds, that these measures are adequate for TPD estimation as they are sensitive to parameter strongly correlated with the TPD.…”

“…Other clinically accepted methods for monitoring LITT are Ultrasound Imaging and Computerized Tomography (CT-Scans) [1,2,4,[8][9][10]. These methods have either inferior resolution to MRI or involve large doses of ionizing radiation.…”

“…These methods have either inferior resolution to MRI or involve large doses of ionizing radiation. Hence, they are usually used when MRI is not possible, unavailable, or when there are medical limitations on using MRI [1,2,4,5,10].…”

“…As the LITT procedure progresses, the scattering coefficient increases [4,10]. Thus, the backscattered speckle pattern should display higher fluctuation [3].…”