A preliminary study of the use of bioimpedance in the screening of squamous tongue cancer

Abstract

Congo Tak-Shing Ching1,2, Tai-Ping Sun1,2, Su-Hua Huang3, Chin-Sung Hsiao4, Ching-Haur Chang4, Shiow-Yuan Huang4, Yi-Juai Chen5, Chi-Sheng Cheng6, Hsiu-Li Shieh2, Chung-Yuan Chen21Graduate Institute of Biomedicine and Biomedical Technology, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan; 2Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chi Nan University, Nantou, Taiwan; 3Department of  Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; 4Department of Photonics and Communication Engineering, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; 5Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 6Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, TaiwanAbstract: 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 objective of this study was to study the electrical properties of cancerous tongue tissue (CTT) and normal tongue tissue (NTT). Five tongue cancer patients participated in this study. A disposable probe incorporating four silver electrodes was used to measure the electrical properties of CTT and the surrounding NTT of patients. Measurements were performed at six frequencies: 20 Hz; 50 kHz; 1.3 MHz; 2.5 MHz; 3.7 MHz; and 5 MHz, with the amplitude of the applied voltage limited to 200mV. Four measurement parameters of impedance (Z), phase angle (θ), real part of impedance (R), and imaginary part of impedance (X) of tongue tissue were assessed to see if there was any significant difference in the values obtained in CTT and surrounding NTT. The intraclass correlation coefficient showed that all measurements were reliable. A significant difference (P < 0.05 for the four measurement parameters) was found at 50kHz between CTT and surrounding NTT. It was also found that Z and R of CTT were generally smaller than that of surrounding NTT. In conclusion, bioimpedance at a particular frequency is a potentially promising technique for tongue cancer screening.Keywords: bioimpedance, tongue, cancer, noninvasive, detection, screening