Researchers at Vanderbilt University developed a colonoscopy endoscope that performs Raman spectroscopy, giving it the power to spot molecules in the gut related to the presence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Currently, diagnosis of IBD is an inexact science that typically requires the patient to try different therapies that eventually point to which type of IBD (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease) is present. This can take years in some cases, putting a great toll on people suffering from the disease before treatment options are identified.
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease have been shown to have different molecular signatures within the bowel tissues that they affect. Raman spectroscopy is able to identify these molecules and also to provide information on the extent of tissue inflammation.
A major part of the work to develop the IBD probe involved studying affected tissues and identifying the molecules and spectral signatures for the probe to look out for. Once these criteria were defined, the team went ahead to build the actual probe that can fit and bend through a colonoscope’s working channel.
In a small clinical trial, the probe was quite good at spotting IBD but still not very accurate at differentiating the type. Though more work needs to be done, the researchers believe this technology may soon be integrated as part of colonoscopy exams, providing a screening tool for IBD and helping to identify treatment much faster than is currently possible.
Study in Biomedical Optics Express: Clinical characterization of in vivo inflammatory bowel disease with Raman spectroscopy…
Via: The Optical Society…
