In-Vivo Microvascular Imaging, a Non-Invasive Diagnostic Method for Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine

Abstract

There is a trend in the medical and dental fields to pursue alternative diagnostic and treatment strategies that are less invasive than traditional open surgical methods, while achieving equal, if not better clinical outcomes. Emerging technologies are helping to develop new diagnostic and treatment methods, many centred upon the philosophy of minimal invasive medical procedures bridging the gap between prevention and full formal surgical procedures. In-vivo microvascular imaging is gaining popularity, with increasing recognition of the morphological changes that occur in the superficial mesodermal tissues, driven and as a direct response to the presence of certain diseases. The Centre for Oral, Clinical and Translational Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry Oral and Craniofacial Sciences at King’s College London, have developed a dedicated intra-oral video-capillaroscopy instrument, named Real Time Optical Vascular Imaging. This technology when combined with its dedicated software, Customized Angiogenesis Analyzer, has the potential to offer a real time, noninvasive diagnostic method for oral diseases, particularly, oral cancer.