OPTICAL EVALUATION OF ORAL TISSUES WITH LEUKOPLKIA

从光学角度来看，白斑病的特征在于口腔粘膜内层的光散射和光吸收特性的变化。环氧合酶抑制剂正在被评估为治疗这种疾病的潜在治疗方式。 正在开发的仪器，以提供一个定量评估观察到的变化，在外观的受影响的地区，病人的嘴，在响应考克斯抑制剂。正在评估的一种光学方法是光学相干断层扫描（OCT）。该技术提供的组织层的非侵入性图像与活检后从组织学获得的图像相当。然而，它昂贵且笨重，需要复杂的仪器支持和熟练的人员来操作。正在评估一种新的光学方法，并开发仪器作为OCT的替代品。将多个不同入射角的光在单个点引入组织中，并在经过散射和吸收的组织中传播后，在插入点的一系列远端点测量随后重新发射的光。强度和光谱分布数据的分析提供了粘膜层厚度和粘膜下层中存在的发色团的光谱特征的测量。将与OCT进行适当的比较，以确定这种新仪器作为OCT的廉价替代品作为监测白斑患者的临床工具的潜力。

Leukoplakia is characterized from an optical viewpoint by changes in the light scattering and optical absorption properties of the mucosal lining of the mouth. Cyclo-oxygenase inhibitors are being evaluated as potential therapeutic modalities for the treatment of this disease. Instrumentation is being developed to provide a quantitative assessment of the observed change in the appearance of the affected regions of a patient's mouth in response to the Cox-inhibitors. One optical approach being assessed is optical coherence tomography (OCT). This technique provides non-invasive images of the tissue layers comparable to those obtained from histology following biopsy. However, it is expensive and unwieldy requiring sophisticated instrumentation support and skilled personnel to operate. A new optical approach is being evaluated and instrumentation developed as an alternative to OCT. Light, at a number of different incident angles, is introduced into the tissue at a single point and the subsequent re-emitted light, after propagating through the tissue undergoing scattering and absorption, is measured at a series of distal points from the point of insertion. Analysis of the data for intensity and spectral distribution provides a measure of the thickness of the mucosal layer and the spectral signature of the chromophores present in the sub-mucosal layer. Appropriate comparison with OCT will be made to determine the potential of this new instrumentation as an inexpensive alternative to OCT as a clinical tool for monitoring patients with leukoplakia.