Abstract
The technique of optical coherence tomography (OCT) has significantly improved over the last few years. This new diagnostic procedure allows imaging of tissue structure of the bladder wall during cystoscopy with high resolution. The penetration depth of OCT is limited to 2.5 mm. The resolution is approximately 15 microm. Fifty patients with different clinical conditions of the bladder were examined. Altogether 488 OCT images were generated. OCT of normal bladder mucosa clearly shows a differentiation between urothelium, lamina propria, and smooth muscle. Cystitis and metaplasia are characterized by blurring of the laminated structure and thickening of the epithelial layer. In malignant areas there is complete loss of the regular layered tissue structure. OCT improves the diagnosis of flat lesions of the urothelium. It has the potential for facilitating intraoperative staging of malignant areas in the bladder.
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