JLE

Hépato-Gastro & Oncologie Digestive

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What are the clinical applications of in vivo imaging techniques ? Volume 18, issue 5, Septembre-Octobre 2011

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Author
CHU Hôtel-Dieu, institut des maladies de l’appareil digestif, service d’hépatogastroentérologie, 1, place Ricordeau, 44093 Nantes Cedex, France, Massachussetts General Hospital, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, 40, Parkman street, Boston MA 02114, États-Unis

Recent technological advances in miniaturization have allowed for the development of confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) using either a confocal scanning microscope integrated into a conventional flexible endoscope (eCLE or endoscope-based CLE), or transendoscopic probes (pCLE or probe-based CLE). CLE has enabled endoscopists to collect real-time in vivo histological images or “virtual biopsies” of the gastrointestinal mucosa during endoscopy, and has stimulated significant interest in the application of this technique in clinical gastroenterology. This review aims to evaluate the current data on the technical aspects and the utility of this new technology in clinical gastroenterology and the potential future developments.