The use of bioimpedance in the detection/screening of tongue cancer

Sun, Tai-Ping; Ching, Congo Tak-Shing; Cheng, Chi-Sheng; Huang, Su-Hua; Chen, Yi-Juai; Hsiao, Chin-Sung; Chang, Ching-Haur; Huang, Shiow-Yuan; Shieh, Hsiu-Li; Liu, Wei-Hao; Liu, Chia-Ming; Chen, Chung-Yuan

doi:10.1016/j.canep.2009.12.017

« Previous Next »Cancer Epidemiology
Volume 34, Issue 2 , Pages 207-211, April 2010

The use of bioimpedance in the detection/screening of tongue cancer

Tai-Ping Sun
- Graduate Institute of Biomedicine and Biomedical Technology, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan
- Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Congo Tak-Shing Ching
- Graduate Institute of Biomedicine and Biomedical Technology, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan
- Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
- Corresponding author at: Graduate Institute of Biomedicine and Biomedical Technology, National Chi Nan University, No. 1 University Rd., Puli, Nantou County 54561, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 492910960x4774; fax: +886 492912434.
Chi-Sheng Cheng
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Su-Hua Huang
- Department of Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan
Yi-Juai Chen
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
Chin-Sung Hsiao
- Department of Photonics and Communication Engineering, Asia University, Taichung County, Taiwan
Ching-Haur Chang
- Department of Photonics and Communication Engineering, Asia University, Taichung County, Taiwan
Shiow-Yuan Huang
- Department of Photonics and Communication Engineering, Asia University, Taichung County, Taiwan
Hsiu-Li Shieh
- Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan
Wei-Hao Liu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedicine and Biomedical Technology, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan
Chia-Ming Liu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedicine and Biomedical Technology, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan
Chung-Yuan Chen
- Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan

Accepted 30 December 2009. published online 15 January 2010.

Abstract

Oral cancers are the 11th most common malignancy reported worldwide, accounting for 3% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases, and one with high mortality ratios among all malignancies. The objectives of this study were therefore to study the electrical properties of cancerous tongue tissue and normal tongue tissue, as well as to investigate a new approach for low-cost, noninvasive, and real-time screening of oral cancer. Twelve tongue cancer patients and twelve healthy subjects participated in this study. A disposable probe with four silver electrodes was used to measure the electrical properties of patient's and healthy subject's tongue tissues at six different frequencies, which were 20Hz, 50kHz, 1.3MHz, 2.5MHz, 3.7MHz and 5MHz. The amplitude of the applied voltage was limited to 200mV. Four measurement parameters of impedance, phase angle, real part of impedance, and imaginary part of impedance of tongue were assessed to see if significant difference in values obtained in patient's and healthy subject's tongue tissues existed. Intraclass correlation coefficient showed that all measurements had good reliability and validity (ICC>0.95 for all measurements). Significant differences were found at 20Hz (p<0.05–0.001 for the four measurement parameters) and 50kHz (p<0.001 for the four measurement parameters) between patient's and healthy subject's tongue tissues. In conclusion, bioimpedance at a particular frequency is a potentially promising technique for tongue cancer screening.