High resolution optical tomographic imaging of human gastrointestinal tissue in vitro with optical coherence tomography

Optical Coherence tomography is a recently developed imaging technique that has potential to improve the diagnostic limits of the currently available imaging techniques, allowing wide range of clinical disorders to be addressed at an early stage. To assess the clinical applicability of OCT, both the normal and pathological specimens from the G.I. tract were imaged, including oesophagus, oesophago-gastric junction, stomach and colon. Sharp differentiation of structures and features was observed between different stages of tissue. The images acquired in this study provide information on tissue microstructure that could only previously be obtained with conventional excisional biopsy.