In Vivo Endoscopic Optical Biopsy with Optical Coherence Tomography

• DOI: 10.1126/science.276.5321.2037
• Publication Date: 2002-07-27T09:45:50Z
• Authors: Guillermo J. Tearney; Mark E. Brezinski; Brett E. Bouma; Stephen A. Boppart; Costas Pitris; James F. Southern; James G. Fujimoto
• Keywords: Endomicroscopy; Endoscope; Optical Tomography; Micrometer

Current medical imaging technologies allow visualization of tissue anatomy in the human body at resolutions ranging from 100 micrometers to 1 millimeter. These are generally not sensitive enough detect early-stage abnormalities associated with diseases such as cancer and atherosclerosis, which require micrometer-scale resolution. Here, optical coherence tomography was adapted high-speed a living animal catheter-endoscope millimeter diameter. This method, referred “optical biopsy,” used obtain cross-sectional images rabbit gastrointestinal respiratory tracts 10-micrometer