Michelson Diagnostics announces successful OCT imaging of oral cancer
tissue
25 January 2008 UK optical imaging company Michelson Diagnostics Ltd
(MDL) has announced successful initial results from clinical testing, on
oral cancer tissue, of its groundbreaking optical coherence tomography (OCT)
imaging technology by partner University College Hospital, London (UCH).
The tests, performed by UCH scientists on cancerous and suspected cancerous
human oral issue, were designed to establish the potential for MDL’s optical
imaging technology to revolutionise head and neck cancer diagnosis and
treatment. The tests involved comparing images taken by the MDL scanner of
the tissue samples, with histopathology images analyzed by trained
pathologists. "We are very excited about the breakthrough in image quality
that this system offers," said Mr Colin Hopper, Senior Maxillofacial Surgeon
at UCH.
"OCT could revolutionise the surveillance of pre-cancers in the mouth and
eliminate the waiting time for biopsy results. It should also minimise
surgery through improved disease mapping. This will provide cost- effective
treatments with improved cure rates.” In the tests, 25 oral tissue samples
were collected from 14 patients of the UCH National Medical Laser Centre.
The samples were scanned with the MDL OCT imaging system and then prepared
for analysis by Pathologist Dr Brendan Conn.
Clinical Research Fellow Mr Waseem Jerjes said, “The histopathology
results showed that it is possible to identify surface structures such as
keratin and epithelial layers, the epidermal–dermal junction and areas of
cellular crowding, as well as any pathological changes that occur at that
level; this is very exciting, this method seems to hold great promises for
early in vivo tumour diagnosis.” The company’s optical probe technology
provides sub-surface OCT images for research applications in cancer surgery
guidance, surveillance and diagnosis.
Figure 1. OCT image of oral cancer tissue, taken with EX1301
OCT scanner, showing dorsum of tongue - hyperplasia. The area in the box
shows mild thickening of the surface keratin and prominent thickening of the
basement membrane and corium consistent with some of the features of
submucous fibrosis. Images courtesy of University College Hospital, London.
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