Intraoperative application of optical coherence tomography for lung tumor

Abstract

AbstractOn‐site instant determination of benign or malignant tumors for deciding the types of resection is crucial during pulmonary surgery. We designed a portable spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT) system to do real‐time scanning intraoperatively for the distinction of fresh tumor specimens in the lung. A total of 12 ex vivo lung specimens from six patients were enrolled. Three patients were diagnosed with invasive adenocarcinoma (IA), while the others were benign. After OCT‐imaged reconstruction, we compared the qualitative morphology of OCT and histology among malignant, benign, and normal tissues. In addition, through analysis of the quantitative data, a discrete difference in optical attenuation coefficients around the junctional surface was shown by our data processing. This study demonstrated a feasible OCT‐assisted resection guide by a rapid on‐site tumor diagnosis. The results indicate that future deep learning of OCT‐captured image systems able to improve diagnostic and therapeutic efficiency is warranted.