clinical application of endomicroscopy

Clinical Application of Endomicroscopy

Endomicroscopy enables a new insight into different diseases of the GI-tract, because pathophysiologic changes can be observed in real time. The new visible in vivo details can be used to improve the diagnostic algorithm.
The advantages of endomicroscopy as a diagnostic tool are explained for different diseases.

Anatomy

In vivo endomicroscopy provided by endomicroscopy is different to conventional histology. The endomicroscopic images are oriented horizontally whereas conventional histological specimens are cut in a vertical axis. Furthermore different details are displayed based on the used contrast agent (endomicroscopy) or staining method (conventional histology). This section correlates endomicroscopic and histological images of the normal GI-tract side by side.