Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and imaging for non-invasive objective assessment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause: a pilot study

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and imaging for non-invasive objective assessment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause: a pilot study

Scientific Reports

10.1038/s41598-023-49655-4

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-49655-4

U. S. Dinish, Susan Logan, Ghayathri Balasundaram, Valerie Teo Xinhui, Keertana Vinod Ram, Zhang Ruochong, Bi Renzhe, Steffie Silvani, Kee Hua Cheng, Xu Xia, Goh Giap Hean, Mahesh Choolani, Malini Olivo

11 January 2024

Dinish, U. S., Logan, S., Balasundaram, G., Xinhui, V. T., Vinod Ram, K., Ruochong, Z., Renzhe, B., Silvani, S., Hua Cheng, K., Xia, X., Giap Hean, G., Choolani, M., & Olivo, M. (2024). Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and imaging for non-invasive objective assessment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause: a pilot study. Scientific Reports, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-49655-4

The genitourinary symptom of menopause (GSM) affects up to 65% of women, resulting in symptoms such as vulvovaginal dryness, discomfort, and dysuria, which significantly impacts quality of life. The current assessment methods rely on subjective questionnaires that can be influenced by individual differences, as well as invasive measurements that are time-consuming and not easily accessible. In this study, we explore the potential of a non-invasive and objective assessment tool called diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and imaging (DRSI) to evaluate tissue chromophores, including water, lipid, oxyhemoglobin, and deoxyhemoglobin. These measurements provide information about moisture content, lipid levels, oxygen saturation, and blood fraction, which can serve as surrogate markers for genital estrogen levels. Our findings reveal distinct differences in these chromophores among pre, peri, and postmenopausal subjects. By using lipid and blood fraction tissue chromophores in a K-Nearest Neighbour classifier model, we achieved a prediction accuracy of 65% compared to vaginal maturation index (VMI) that is clinically used to assess estrogen-related hormonal changes. When age was included as the third feature, the accuracy increased to 78%. We believe that by refining the study protocol and configuring the fiber probe to examine tissue chromophores both in the superficial vulva skin for epidermal water content and the deeper layers, DRSI has the potential to provide objective diagnosis and aid in monitoring the treatment outcome of GSM.

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research - Industry Alignment Fund - Pre-Positioning: Translational Biophotonics Innovation Platform
Grant Reference no. : H19H6a0025

This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research - Intramural funding
Grant Reference no. :

This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research - Central Research Fund (Use-Inspired Basic Research) 2021
Grant Reference no. :

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/21679

2045-2322

Skin Research Lab