Prostate cancer is a major health problem among men in Europe and the USA. Tactile resonance technology and Raman spectroscopy have both shown promising results in vitro, detecting and diagnosing cancer tumors respectively. A new approach, combining the strength of resonance technology and Raman spectroscopy is investigated. This study deals with the effects of molding a Raman fiber optic probe into a cylindrical resonance sensor element (RSE) to achieve a combined probe. Heat induced by the Raman spectroscopy laser might affect temperature dependent properties of the RSE. Also, molding a Raman probe into a RSE will affect its properties. The RSE temperature dependency was investigated using the resonance sensor system Venustron®. The Raman fiber optic probe was simulated by a thin steel pipe which was molded into a single cylindrical RSE. The effects on the frequency characteristics when modifying the RSE were investigated with a network analyzer. Although the resonance frequency of a RSE is temperature dependent, the frequency shift, as used for calculating stiffness, is not noticeably affected by moderate temperature variations. The RSE properties change less by using a small amount of filler material and a small diameter of the Raman probe.
Validerad; 2009; Bibliografisk uppgift: Vol. 7 med titel: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Instrumentation, Clinical Engineering; 20090922 (mornyb)