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The concept of “optical digital biopsy” comprises of two essential components: firstly to capture a high resolution in vivo digital image and then secondly, to unmask the digital image by post processing means so as to achieve tissue and cell identification. Because of optical clarity and anatomic location, both anterior segment and the posterior segment structures of the eye lend itself to imaging. Particularly retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are amenable to assessment by optical coherence tomography (OCT), a widely used non-invasive technique for high resolution and cross-sectional tomographic imaging. With rapid improvements in technology and shift to Fourier-domain (FD) OCT, it is possible to capture retinal images 40 to 50 times faster and with higher resolution (axial resolution of less than 6 microns) than standard time domain (TD) OCT. Since 1995, we have been exploring the possibility of “digital staining” for certain substances and structures such as proteins, pigments, immunoglobulin deposits, and synaptic interconnections in the retina (unpublished data). We have been able to perform specific “digital staining” of fibrous, muscle, adipose or vascular tissue component. This has led us to realize that high resolution digital images can be unmasked to reveal tissue and cellular composition both in normal and pathological conditions (optical digital biopsy). As a first step to ophthalmic applications of “optical digital biopsy”, we started with the high resolution images of histological slides of normal and diseased retina stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE), and through digital post processing of these images, we were able to obtain images that resembled those generated by SD OCT of retina cellular layers (Figure 1) and drusen deposits in the Bruchs’s membrane (Figure 2). The next step was to reverse the process, that is to start with high resolution retinal SD OCT images and through digital post processing of these images to unmask and identify tissue and cellular compositions generating virtual histopathology (optical digital biopsy).

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2013-01-16   |   596 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 50 Núm.3. Julio-Septiembre 2012 Pags. 179-181 Patología 2012; 50(3)