Endoscopic applications of optical coherence tomography

Initial data, capabilities and limitations conclusions, and diagnostic usefulness recommendations derived from application of our endoscopic optical coherence tomography (EOCT) system to the imaging of the mucous membranes of human internal organs are presented herein based on in vivo study of more than 100 patients. These data suggest that EOCT can provide, non-invasively and innocuously, such significant clinical diagnostic information as the following: identification and localization of informative internal biopsy sites; structural characterization of normal and abnormal internal mucosal tissues; guidance in the rendering of surgical and non-surgical treatments; and monitoring of the functional states (both normal and abnormal) of internal orgarns and post-operative recovery processes in the same. This investigation demonstrated that OCT data is more informative for organs with epithelial tissues separated from their underlying stroma by a smooth basal membrane; therefore, this report focuses on the EOCT study of three such internal organs - the larynx, the bladder, and the uterine cervix. Additionally reported herein, for the first time, is the laparascopic OCT examination of the mucosal lining of the abdomen. (C)1998 Optical Society of America