Scanning acoustic microscopy imaging of tongue squamous cell carcinomas discriminates speed-of-sound between lesions and healthy regions in the mucous epithelium

ObjectiveA scanning acoustic microscope can show images created from the high-frequency sound's speed through tissues. The objective of this study was to determine the availability of the scanning acoustic microscope in the diagnosis of the squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.MethodsWe used SAM to obtain images of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, and we analyzed the differences in the sound speed between lesions and healthy regions in the mucous epithelium. The subjects were 10 patients (5 males and 5 females, 41–88 years old, avg. 64.0 years) who underwent partial resection of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.ResultsThe results showed significantly higher sound speeds in the lesions compared to the healthy regions in the mucous epithelium. The scanning acoustic microscope provides the general benefits as follows: images are acquired in a few minutes without any staining and the sound speeds from each region are provided as digital data and comparable among diseases.ConclusionsOur observations suggest that the scanning acoustic microscope imaging can be very helpful for determining the margin of squamous cell carcinoma.