Topic Highlight
Copyright ©2011 Baishideng Publishing Group Co.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2011; 17(1): 53-62
Published online Jan 7, 2011. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i1.53
Table 1 Advantages and disadvantages of optical technologies for identification of neoplasia in Barrett’s esophagus
TechnologyAdvantagesDisadvantagesStage of clinical translation
Standard WLECapable of scanning wide area, widely available outside of tertiary care centers, no exogenous contrastLimited sensitivity and specificityCommercially available
High-definition WLECapable of scanning wide area, increased image contrast, no exogenous contrastPerformance evaluated in moderate-sized studiesCommercially available
AFICapable of scanning wide area, consistently high sensitivity, no exogenous contrastHigh rate of false positives, performance evaluated only in small pilot studiesCommercially available
NBICapable of scanning wide area, consistently high sensitivity, no exogenous contrastPerformance evaluated in small pilot studiesCommercially available
OCTResolves subsurface structure, no exogenous contrastTechnology still under developmentClinical studies
EndocytoscopyHistology-like imaging, high specificityLow sensitivity, limited field of view, requires exogenous contrastCommercially available
CMENuclear morphology can be viewed, high sensitivity and specificityLimited field of view, high cost, uses IV exogenous contrastCommercially available
High-resolution microendoscopySome nuclear morphology can be viewed, lower cost, adaptable to any endoscopeLimited field of view, requires exogenous contrast, technology still in developmentClinical studies
Table 2 Summary of performance of emerging optical technologies
Type of detectionStudy sizeSensitivity, specificity
AFI60 patients, 116 images91%, 43%[36]
NBI63 patients, 175 images94%, 76%[33]
51 patients, 204 images100%, 98%[34]
21 patients, 75 images89%, 95%[38]
High-resolution imaging (1-15 μm resolution)
OCT33 patients, 314 images68%, 82%[43]
55 patients, 177 images83%, 75%[58]
Endocytoscopy16 patients, 166 images56%, 68% (425 ×)
42%, 83% (1125 ×)[47]
Confocal imaging63 patients, 433 images93%, 98%[48]
38 patients, 296 images75%, 90%[50]