Colon cancer detection by using Poincaré sphere and 2D polarimetric mapping of ex vivo colon samples

This work is dedicated to the diagnosis and grading of colon cancer by a combined use of Poincaré sphere and 2D Stokes vector polarimetry mapping approaches. The major challenge consists in exploring the applicability of polarized light for noninvasive screening of the histological abnormalities within the samples of biological tissues. Experimental studies were conducted in ex vivo colon sample, excised after surgical procedure for colon tumor removal of G2-adenocarcinoma lesion. Polarimetric measurements in linear and circular regime were carried via personally developed polarimetric, optical set-up, using supercontinuous fiber laser with irradiation fixed at 635 nm. We apply the Poincaré sphere and two-dimensional Stokes vector scanning approach for screening the corresponding tissue samples. A comparison between linear and circular polarization states is made both for quantitative and qualitative evaluations. It is shown that circular polarization has better diagnostic capabilities than linear polarization, with higher dynamic ranges of the polarimetric parameters and better values of the diagnostic quantities. In addition to the standard polarimetry parameters, utilized as essential diagnostic markers, we apply statistical analysis to obtain more detailed information in frame of the applied diagnostic approach.