Head & Neck Oncology

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This article is part of the supplement: 1st Scientific Meeting of the Head and Neck Optical Diagnostics Society

Open Access Oral presentation

Raman spectroscopy in clinical diagnosis of head & neck pathology

Max JH Witjes

  • Correspondence: Max JH Witjes

Author Affiliations

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery, University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), The Netherlands

Head & Neck Oncology 2009, 1(Suppl 1):O8 doi:10.1186/1758-3284-1-S1-O8

Published: 28 July 2009

First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in the life sciences are still in the early stages of development. Raman spectroscopy is being investigated in a broad spectrum of biological and toxicological sciences. In oncology Raman is being investigated as a diagnostic tool for characterising cancer cells and distinguishing these from normal cells. Raman spectroscopy has the distinct advantage over other optical techniques that it provides information on molecular composition and structure of living tissue. There is a strong rationale for using Raman spectroscopy in epithelial cancer. Although Raman spectroscopy has been investigated for several decades, clinical studies are scarce.