Preliminary assessment of a portable Raman spectroscopy system for post-operative urinary stone analysis

Purpose We aimed to evaluate the reliability of a portable device that applies Raman spectroscopy at an excitation wavelength of 1064 nm for the post-operative analysis of urinary stone composition. Materials and methods Urinary stone samples were obtained post-operatively from 300 patients. All samples were analyzed by the portable Raman spectroscopy system at an excitation wavelength of 1064 nm as well as by infrared spectroscopy (IR), and the results were compared. Results Both Raman spectroscopy and IR could detect multiple stone components, including calcium oxalate monohydrate, calcium oxalate dihydrate, calcium phosphate, uric acid, cystine, and magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate. The results from 1064-nm Raman analysis matched those from IR analysis for 96.0% (288/300) of cases. Although IR detected multiple components within samples more often than Raman analysis (239 vs 131), the Raman analysis required less time to complete than IR data acquisition (5 min vs 30 min). Conclusions These preliminary results indicate that 1064-nm Raman spectroscopy can be applied in a portable and automated analytical system for rapid detection of urinary stone composition in the post-operative clinical setting. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trail Register ID: ChiCTR2000039810 (approved WHO primary register) http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=63662 .