Rapid Characterization\nof Solid Tumors Using Resonant\nSensors

Abstract

Cancer continues to be a significant cause of non-traumatic\npediatric\nmortality. Diagnosis of pediatric solid tumors is paramount to prescribing\nthe correct treatment regimen. Recent efforts have focused on non-invasive\nmethods to obtain tumor tissues, but one of the challenges encountered\nis the ability to obtain an adequate amount of viable tissue. In this\nstudy, a wireless, inductor-capacitor (LC) sensor was employed to\ndetect relative permittivity of pediatric tumor tissues. There is\na comparison of resonant frequencies of tumor tissues between live\nversus dead tissues, the primary tumor tissue versus tissue from the\norgans of origin or metastasis, and treated versus untreated tumors.\nThe results show significant shifts in resonant frequencies between\nthe comparison groups. Dead tissues demonstrated a significant shift\nin resonant frequencies compared to alive tissues. There were significant\ndifferences between the resonant frequencies of normal tissues versus\ntumor tissues. Resonant frequencies were also significantly different\nbetween primary tumors compared to their respective metastases. These\ndata indicate that there are potential clinical applications of LC\ntechnology in the detection and diagnosis of pediatric solid tumors.