Automated Raman micro-spectroscopy of epithelial cells for the high-throughput classification

Raman micro-spectroscopy is a powerful technique for the identification and classification of cancer cells and tissues. In recent years, the application of Raman spectroscopy to detect bladder, cervical, and oral cytological samples has been reported to have an accuracy that is greater than standard pathology. However, despite being entirely non-invasive and relatively inexpensive, the slow recording time, and lack of reproducibility, have prevented the clinical adoption of the technology. Here we present an automated Raman cytology system that can facilitate high-throughput screening and improve reproducibility. The proposed system is designed to be integrated directly into the standard pathology clinic, taking into account their methodologies and consumables. The system employs image processing algorithms and integrated hardware/software architectures in order to achieve automation and is tested using the ThinPrep standard, including the use of glass slides, and a number of bladder cancer cell lines. The entire automation process is implemented using the open source Micro-Manager platform, and is made freely available. We believe this code can be readily integrated into existing commercial Raman micro-spectrometers.