Ex Vivo (Fluorescence) Confocal Microscopy in Surgical Pathology: State of the Art. (May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ragazzi, Moira; Longo, Caterina; Piana, Simonetta
• Is Part Of: Advances in anatomic pathology. Volume 23:Number 3(2016)
• Publication Date: 2016-05
• Subjects: confocal microscopy -- fluorescence confocal microscopy -- surgical pathology -- endomicroscopy -- confocal laser endomicroscopy -- intraoperative diagnosis; Pathology -- Periodicals; 616.0705
• DOI: 10.1097/PAP.0000000000000114
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1072-4109

Abstract

Abstract : First developed in 1957, confocal microscopy is a powerful imaging tool that can be used to obtain near real-time reflected light images of untreated human tissue with nearly histologic resolution. Besides its research applications, in the last decades, confocal microscopy technology has been proposed as a useful device to improve clinical diagnosis, especially in ophthalmology, dermatology, and endomicroscopy settings, thanks to advances in instrument development. Compared with the wider use of the in vivo tissue assessment, ex vivo applications of confocal microscopy are not fully explored. A comprehensive review of the current literature was performed here, focusing on the reliable applications of ex vivo confocal microscopy in surgical pathology and on some potential evolutions of this new technique from pathologists' viewpoint.