Papers Published

1. Chu, KK; Zhao, Y; Jelly, ET; Steelman, ZA; Crose, M; Cox, B; Ofori-Marfoh, Y; Moussa, L; Cirri, H; Watts, A; Shaheen, N; Wax, A, Esophageal OCT Imaging Using a Paddle Probe Externally Attached to Endoscope., Digestive Diseases and Sciences, vol. 67 no. 10 (October, 2022), pp. 4805-4812 [doi] .
   (last updated on 2023/06/01)

   Abstract:
   

   Background and aims

   Endoscopic surveillance of Barrett's esophagus (BE) by white light examination is insufficient to diagnose dysplastic change. In this work, we describe an optical imaging method to obtain high-resolution cross-sectional imaging using a paddle-shaped probe affixed to the endoscope tip.

   Methods

   We integrated Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), an optical imaging method that produces cross-sectional images, into a paddle probe attached to video endoscope. We acquired images of esophageal epithelium from patients undergoing routine upper GI endoscopy. Images were classified by a reviewer blinded to patient identity and condition, and these results were compared with clinical diagnosis.

   Results

   We successfully captured epithelial OCT images from 30 patients and identified features consistent with both squamous epithelium and Barrett's esophagus. Our blinded image reviewer classified BE versus non-BE with 91.5% accuracy (65/71 image regions), including sensitivity of 84.6% for BE (11/13) and a specificity of 93.1% (54/58). However, in 16 patients, intubation of the probe into the esophagus could not be achieved.

   Conclusions

   A paddle probe is a feasible imaging format for acquiring cross-sectional OCT images from the esophagus and can provide a structural assessment of BE and non-BE tissue. Probe form factor is the current limiting obstacle, but could be addressed by further miniaturization.