Raman spectral band imaging for the diagnostics and classification of canine and feline cutaneous tumors

This study introduces Raman imaging technique for diagnosing skin cancer in veterinary oncology patients (dogs and cats). Initially, Raman spectral bands (with specificity to certain molecular structures and functional groups) were identified in formalin-fixed samples of mast cell tumors and soft ti...

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Main Authors: Mindaugas Tamošiūnas, Martynas Maciulevičius, Romans Maļiks, Diāna Dupļevska, Daira Viškere, Ilze Matīse-van Houtana, Roberts Kadiķis, Blaž Cugmas, Renaldas Raišutis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Veterinary Quarterly
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01652176.2025.2486771
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author Mindaugas Tamošiūnas
Martynas Maciulevičius
Romans Maļiks
Diāna Dupļevska
Daira Viškere
Ilze Matīse-van Houtana
Roberts Kadiķis
Blaž Cugmas
Renaldas Raišutis
author_facet Mindaugas Tamošiūnas
Martynas Maciulevičius
Romans Maļiks
Diāna Dupļevska
Daira Viškere
Ilze Matīse-van Houtana
Roberts Kadiķis
Blaž Cugmas
Renaldas Raišutis
author_sort Mindaugas Tamošiūnas
collection DOAJ
description This study introduces Raman imaging technique for diagnosing skin cancer in veterinary oncology patients (dogs and cats). Initially, Raman spectral bands (with specificity to certain molecular structures and functional groups) were identified in formalin-fixed samples of mast cell tumors and soft tissue sarcomas, obtained through routine veterinary biopsy submissions. Then, a custom-built Raman macro-imaging system featuring an intensified CCD camera (iXon Ultra 888, Andor, UK), tunable narrow-band Semrock (USA) optical filter compartment was used to map the spectral features at 1437 cm−1 and 1655 cm−1 in ex vivo tissue. This approach enabled wide-field (cm2), rapid (within seconds), and safe (< 400 mW/cm2) imaging conditions, supporting accurate diagnosis of tissue state. The findings indicate that machine learning classifiers – particularly support vector machine (SVM) and decision tree (DT) – effectively distinguished between soft tissue sarcoma, mastocytoma and benign tissues using Raman spectral band imaging data. Additionally, combining Raman macro-imaging with residual near-infrared (NIR) autofluorescence as a bimodal imaging technique enhanced diagnostic performance, reaching 85 – 95% in accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and precision – even with a single spectral band (1437 cm−1 or 1655 cm−1). In conclusion, the proposed bi-modal imaging is a pioneering method for veterinary oncology science, offering to improve the diagnostic accuracy of malignant tumors.
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spelling doaj-art-9603da5f78ec480c80300e69dc880bcd2025-08-20T02:08:31ZengTaylor & Francis GroupVeterinary Quarterly0165-21761875-59412025-12-0145111710.1080/01652176.2025.2486771Raman spectral band imaging for the diagnostics and classification of canine and feline cutaneous tumorsMindaugas Tamošiūnas0Martynas Maciulevičius1Romans Maļiks2Diāna Dupļevska3Daira Viškere4Ilze Matīse-van Houtana5Roberts Kadiķis6Blaž Cugmas7Renaldas Raišutis8Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy, University of Latvia, Rīga, LatviaUltrasound Research Institute, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, LithuaniaInstitute of Electronics and Computer Science, Riga, LatviaInstitute of Electronics and Computer Science, Riga, LatviaInstitute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy, University of Latvia, Rīga, LatviaInstitute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy, University of Latvia, Rīga, LatviaInstitute of Electronics and Computer Science, Riga, LatviaInstitute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy, University of Latvia, Rīga, LatviaUltrasound Research Institute, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, LithuaniaThis study introduces Raman imaging technique for diagnosing skin cancer in veterinary oncology patients (dogs and cats). Initially, Raman spectral bands (with specificity to certain molecular structures and functional groups) were identified in formalin-fixed samples of mast cell tumors and soft tissue sarcomas, obtained through routine veterinary biopsy submissions. Then, a custom-built Raman macro-imaging system featuring an intensified CCD camera (iXon Ultra 888, Andor, UK), tunable narrow-band Semrock (USA) optical filter compartment was used to map the spectral features at 1437 cm−1 and 1655 cm−1 in ex vivo tissue. This approach enabled wide-field (cm2), rapid (within seconds), and safe (< 400 mW/cm2) imaging conditions, supporting accurate diagnosis of tissue state. The findings indicate that machine learning classifiers – particularly support vector machine (SVM) and decision tree (DT) – effectively distinguished between soft tissue sarcoma, mastocytoma and benign tissues using Raman spectral band imaging data. Additionally, combining Raman macro-imaging with residual near-infrared (NIR) autofluorescence as a bimodal imaging technique enhanced diagnostic performance, reaching 85 – 95% in accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and precision – even with a single spectral band (1437 cm−1 or 1655 cm−1). In conclusion, the proposed bi-modal imaging is a pioneering method for veterinary oncology science, offering to improve the diagnostic accuracy of malignant tumors.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01652176.2025.2486771Raman spectral band imagingnear-infrared autofluorescenceveterinary oncologymast cell tumorsoft tissue sarcoma
spellingShingle Mindaugas Tamošiūnas
Martynas Maciulevičius
Romans Maļiks
Diāna Dupļevska
Daira Viškere
Ilze Matīse-van Houtana
Roberts Kadiķis
Blaž Cugmas
Renaldas Raišutis
Raman spectral band imaging for the diagnostics and classification of canine and feline cutaneous tumors
Veterinary Quarterly
Raman spectral band imaging
near-infrared autofluorescence
veterinary oncology
mast cell tumor
soft tissue sarcoma
title Raman spectral band imaging for the diagnostics and classification of canine and feline cutaneous tumors
title_full Raman spectral band imaging for the diagnostics and classification of canine and feline cutaneous tumors
title_fullStr Raman spectral band imaging for the diagnostics and classification of canine and feline cutaneous tumors
title_full_unstemmed Raman spectral band imaging for the diagnostics and classification of canine and feline cutaneous tumors
title_short Raman spectral band imaging for the diagnostics and classification of canine and feline cutaneous tumors
title_sort raman spectral band imaging for the diagnostics and classification of canine and feline cutaneous tumors
topic Raman spectral band imaging
near-infrared autofluorescence
veterinary oncology
mast cell tumor
soft tissue sarcoma
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01652176.2025.2486771
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