Detection of bladder tumors using optical coherence tomography

This paper summarizes the engineering development of our lab for endoscopic optical coherence tomography toward the ultimate goal to image bladder micro architecture and to diagnose bladder cancers. To test the utility and potential limitations of OCT setups for bladder tumor diagnosis, we used a rat bladder cancer model to track the morphological changes following tumor growth. Image results are presented, suggesting that OCT is able to differentiate cancerous lesions from inflammatory lesions based on OCT characterizations of epithelial thickness and backscattering changes of bladder tissue.