In vitro terahertz dielectric spectroscopy of human brain tumors

Modern progress in terahertz (THz) diagnostics of malignancies, including non-invasive, least-invasive and intraoperative techniques is briefly discussed. Special attention is paid to intraoperative diagnosis of brain tumors, which is a rapidly developing field nowadays. We discuss our recent results in this research field, which are associated with (i) in vitro studies the THz dielectric response of gelatin-embedded human brain tumors (including gliomas and meningiomas featuring different grades), (ii) analysis an ability for differentiation between normal and pathological tissues of the brain relying on the methods of THz spectroscopy and imaging, and, finally, (iii) development of novel THz instrumentation for the intraoperative detection of margins of tumors in order to guarantee its gross total resection.