Li Yan, Lin Riqiang, Liu Chengbo, Chen Jianhua, Liu Huadong, Zheng Rongqin, Gong Xiaojing, Song Liang
Research Laboratory for Biomedical Optics and Molecular Imaging, Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Molecular Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Department of Cardiology, The Second Clinical Medical College of Jinan University, Shenzhen People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
J Biophotonics. 2018 Oct;11(10):e201800034. doi: 10.1002/jbio.201800034. Epub 2018 Jun 19.
Endoscopy is an essential clinical tool for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) tract cancer. A photoacoustic system that elegantly combines optical and ultrasound endoscopy advantages by providing high-sensitivity functional information and large imaging depth is a potentially powerful tool for GI tract imaging. Recently, several photoacoustic endoscopic imaging systems have been proposed and developed. However, the relatively large size and rigid length of the catheter make it difficult to translate them into wide clinical applications; while the existing system of a relatively small catheter, capable of in vivo animal imaging, is unable to acquire full (360°) field-of-view cross-section images. In this study, we developed a photoacoustic/ultrasonic dual-modality endoscopic system and a corresponding miniaturized, encapsulated imaging catheter, which provides a full 360° field-of-view. The diameter of the catheter is 2.5 mm, which is compatible with the 2.8-mm instrumental channel of a conventional clinical optical endoscope. Using this system, we demonstrate in vivo 3-dimensional endoscopic photoacoustic/ultrasonic imaging of the colorectum of a healthy Sprague Dawley rat, by depicting vasculature and morphology of the GI tract. The significantly improved imaging field of view, reduced catheter size, high-quality imaging results suggest that the developed photoacoustic/ultrasonic dual-modality endoscopy has a great potential to be translated into a broad range of clinical applications in gastroenterology.
内窥镜检查是诊断胃肠道癌症的重要临床工具。一种通过提供高灵敏度功能信息和大成像深度而巧妙结合光学和超声内窥镜检查优势的光声系统，是用于胃肠道成像的潜在强大工具。最近，已经提出并开发了几种光声内窥镜成像系统。然而，导管相对较大的尺寸和刚性长度使其难以转化为广泛的临床应用；而现有的能够进行体内动物成像的较小导管系统，无法获取完整（360°）视野的横截面图像。在本研究中，我们开发了一种光声/超声双模态内窥镜系统和相应的小型化、封装成像导管，其提供完整的360°视野。导管直径为2.5毫米，与传统临床光学内窥镜的2.8毫米器械通道兼容。使用该系统，我们通过描绘胃肠道的血管系统和形态，展示了健康Sprague Dawley大鼠结肠的体内三维内窥镜光声/超声成像。显著改善的成像视野、减小的导管尺寸、高质量的成像结果表明，所开发的光声/超声双模态内窥镜检查在胃肠病学中具有转化为广泛临床应用的巨大潜力。
