Researchers at Cornell are exploring the possibilities of a well-established imaging technology called multiphoton microscopy, as they work toward developing a next-generation endoscope that would minimize the need for biopsies altogether, and also allow doctors to examine surgical margins at high resolution in real time.
The researchers are working to incorporate multiphoton microscopy in the tiny end of a thin endoscope to directly image tissues or tumors. Multiphoton microscopy acquires high-resolution images deep below the surface of a tissue sample. This allows visualization of cellular details within unstained tissues that would be useful for pathologists to make diagnostic predictions.
Developing an optical biopsy instrument has been called the “holy grail” for surgical endoscopy — the ability to get identical histologic information as one would obtain from a surgical biopsy without having to extract the tissue from the patient. Bladder cancers have high rates of recurrence because it is difficult to pinpoint and remove every area of malignancy. Even so, 70 percent of all bladder biopsies are benign, because with the naked eye, a surgeon cannot distinguish between an inflammatory and a malignant lesion, so they have to biopsy it all to be safe.
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