Fujimoto J G, Brezinski M E, Tearney G J, Boppart S A, Bouma B, Hee M R, Southern J F, Swanson E A
Department of Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
Nat Med. 1995 Sep;1(9):970-2. doi: 10.1038/nm0995-970.
Optical coherence tomography is a new imaging technique that can perform high-resolution, micrometre-scale, cross-sectional imaging in biological systems. The technology has been developed, and reduced to, preliminary clinical practice in ophthalmology. The challenging problem that OCT may address is the development of 'optical biopsy' techniques. These techniques can provide diagnostic imaging of tissue morphology without the need for excision of specimens. Many investigations remain to identify optimal areas for clinical application, and additional engineering must be done to integrate vertically the technology and to reduce it to clinical practice. Nevertheless, preliminary studies indicate the feasibility of developing this technology for a wide range of clinical and research diagnostic imaging applications. The ability to non-excisionally evaluate tissue morphology using a catheter or an endoscope could have a significant impact on the diagnosis and management of a wide range of diseases.
光学相干断层扫描是一种新的成像技术，能够在生物系统中进行高分辨率、微米级的横断面成像。该技术已得到发展并初步应用于眼科临床实践。光学相干断层扫描可能解决的一个具有挑战性的问题是“光学活检”技术的开发。这些技术无需切除标本就能提供组织形态的诊断成像。仍有许多研究有待开展，以确定临床应用的最佳领域，还必须进行更多的工程工作，以便将该技术纵向整合并应用于临床实践。尽管如此，初步研究表明，开发这项技术用于广泛的临床和研究诊断成像应用是可行的。使用导管或内窥镜非切除性评估组织形态的能力可能会对多种疾病的诊断和管理产生重大影响。
