Purpose of review: This article reviews reports on the prevalence of subsquamous intestinal metaplasia (SSIM) in patients with Barrett's esophagus, and the implications of SSIM in the neoplastic progression of Barrett's esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma. Recent findings: Endoscopic eradication therapy for dysplastic Barrett's esophagus has become an encouraging alternative to esophagectomy or continued endoscopic surveillance. However, the presence of SSIM before and after ablation is concerning because this tissue may have potential for malignant progression, is not visible by conventional endoscopy, and may evade detection by random esophageal biopsy sampling methods. Advances in endoscopic high-resolution three-dimensional optical ...
A clinical need exists for a cheap and efficient standard for polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT). We utilize prehistoric fossilized teeth from the Megalodon shark and European horse as an unconventional, yet robust standard. Given their easy accessibility and the microstructural consistency conferred by the process of fossilization, they provide a means of calibration to reduce error from sources such as catheter bending and temperature changes. We tested the maximum difference in birefringence values in each tooth and found the fossilized teeth to be fast and repeatable. The results were compared to measurements from bovine meniscus, tendon, and destroyed ...
A tethered capsule that is swallowed by the patient offers a quick and pain-free method of screening and diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases. Diagnosing gastrointestinal (GI) diseases usually involves endoscopy, combining an invasive probe and video imaging or other optical methods. While effective, this method often causes patient discomfort and typically requires anesthesia, making it costly and time-consuming. Here we describe a new option for screening using a swallowable optomechanically engineered pill that rapidly provides 3D microscopic images of the gastrointestinal tract. The process is pain-free, so there is no need for anesthesia, and enables quick diagnosis of esophageal diseases.
Purpose: In coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA), low attenuation of coronary atherosclerotic plaque is associated with lipid-rich plaques. However, an overlap in Hounsfield units (HU) between fibrous and lipid-rich plaque as well as an influence of luminal enhancement on plaque attenuation was observed and may limit accurate detection of lipid-rich plaques by CTA. We sought to determine whether the quantitative histogram analysis improves accuracy of the detection of lipid-core plaque (LCP) in ex vivo hearts by validation against histological analysis. Materials and Methods: Human donor hearts were imaged with a 64-slice computed tomographic scanner using a standard coronary CTA protocol ...
Exemplary method, apparatus and arrangement can be provided for obtaining information associated with a sample such as a portion of an anatomical structure. The information can be generated using first data, which can be based on a signal obtained from a location on the sample, and second data, where the second data can be obtained by combining a second signal received from the sample with a third reference signal. An image of a portion of the sample can also be generated based on the information. For example, the first data can be associated with spectral encoding microscopy data, and the ...
Melissa J. Suter is a researcher in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit of the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Her lab is particularly interested in the development, use, and clinical translation of optical imaging systems and techniques, notably optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI), to address challenges in pulmonary medicine. Lab members are currently investigating the use of OFDI for studying lung cancer, asthma, and smoke inhalation injury in ex vivo, preclinical, and clinical studies.
A combined high-resolution reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM)/optical coherence tomography (OCT) instrument for assessing skin burn gravity has been built and tested. This instruments allows for visualizing skin intracellular details with submicron resolution in the RCM mode and morphological and birefringence modifications to depths on the order of 1.2 mm in the OCT mode. Preliminary testing of the dual modality imaging approach has been performed on the skin of volunteers with some burn scars and on normal and thermally-injured Epiderm FTTM skin constructs. The initial results show that these two optical technologies have complementary capabilities that can offer the ...
MGH Receives 2013 NIH Grant for $204,038 for Development of a Preclinical Optical Frequency Domain Angiography Instrument. The principal investigator is Benjamin Vakoc. The program is part is a one year project. Below is a summary of the work. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) supports research and development of innovative technologies for improving the quality and use of hearing aid devices. Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes the development of a new Ear Canal Optical Coherent Tomography (ECOCT) system to obtain the shape of the individual ear canal and the corresponding 3D image of the ...
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths 1 . Squamous cell and small cell cancers typically arise in association with the conducting airways, whereas adenocarcinomas are typically more peripheral in location. Lung malignancy detection early in the disease process may be difficult due to several limitations: radiological resolution, bronchoscopic limitations in evaluating tissue underlying the airway mucosa and identifying early pathologic changes, and small sample size and/or incomplete sampling in histology biopsies. High resolution imaging modalities, such as optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI), provide non-destructive, large area 3-dimensional views of tissue microstructure to depths approaching 2 mm in ...
Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Harvard Medical School is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is a prestigious American medical school located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Schepens Eye Research Institute fights blindness by developing new technologies, therapies and knowledge to retain and restore vision. Through a continuum of discovery, the Institute works toward a future in which blindness is prevented, alleviated, and, ultimately, cured.