In vivo optical endomicroscopy: two decades of translational research towards next generation diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis

Abstract

Histopathologic analysis of biopsy specimens obtained via white light endoscopy (WLE) is the gold standard for the diagnosis of several mucosal diseases in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, this standard of care entails a series of critical shortcomings such as missing depth information, high costs, time inefficiency, low-resolution imaging in vivo, high sampling variability, missing intrinsic tissue-specific contrast, and anesthesia related risk. In the quest for a diagnostic technology to replace the current standard of care, in vivo optical endomicroscopy has emerged as a promising alternative. This paper tells the story of a cluster of optical microscopy-based modalities invented, further developed, or first-validated in the laboratory of Dr. Guillermo J. Tearney (Tearney Lab) at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine of Massachusetts General Hospital over the past two decades, that combined lead to a novel method for diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Rather than being a comprehensive literature review, this paper aims to describe the translational journey towards a disease specific diagnostic and research tool for this increasingly recognized yet poorly understood immune-mediated disorder of the esophagus.