The paper presents the results of a study of the female urethra in cases of urethral pain syndrome (UPS) and inflammatory diseases of the lower urinary tract using cross-polarization optical coherence tomography (CP OCT). Urethral wall structure was studied in 86 patients; 233 CP OCT images were collected. A comparative qualitative analysis of three groups of CP OCT images — “norm”, “Inflammation” and “UPS” — identified that despite the absence of a clear inflammatory factor in the patient’s examination, the urethral tissues in UPS were in an altered state. The changes in the urethral wall with UPS and in cases of inflammation were similar. Using a point scale, three experts independently performed visual scoring of the CP OCT images. Three parameters: epithelial contrast, cavities and the minimum signal depth in the co-channel were evaluated. It was found that, individually, the parameters correlate only weakly with the diagnosis. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was from 0.51 to 0.78. The joint use of a number of visual signs has a greater diagnostic value than the use of the criteria individually. Area under the ROC curve using the developed cumulative criterion reached up to 0.87–0.89. This study could form the basis of a scoring system for assessing the state of the urethral tract using CP OCT images in real time. The CP OCT method provides information on the state of urethral tissues that cannot be obtained with traditional cystoscopy.

中文翻译：

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使用交叉偏振光学相干断层扫描在体内评估下尿路疾病中尿道的结构变化

本文介绍了使用交叉极化光学相干断层扫描 (CP OCT) 对女性尿道在尿道疼痛综合征 (UPS) 和下尿路炎症性疾病情况下的研究结果。对 86 名患者的尿道壁结构进行了研究；收集了 233 张 CP OCT 图像。对三组 CP OCT 图像（“正常”、“炎症”和“UPS”）的比较定性分析发现，尽管患者检查中没有明确的炎症因子，但 UPS 中的尿道组织处于改变状态。UPS 和炎症情况下尿道壁的变化相似。使用点量表，三位专家独立地对 CP OCT 图像进行视觉评分。评估了三个参数：上皮对比度、腔和共通道中的最小信号深度。结果发现，单独地，这些参数与诊断的相关性很弱。受试者工作特征 (ROC) 曲线下面积为 0.51 至 0.78。多个视觉标志的联合使用比单独使用标准具有更大的诊断价值。使用开发的累积标准的 ROC 曲线下面积达到 0.87-0.89。这项研究可以构成使用 CP OCT 图像实时评估尿道状态的评分系统的基础。CP OCT 方法提供了传统膀胱镜检查无法获得的有关尿道组织状态的信息。多个视觉标志的联合使用比单独使用标准具有更大的诊断价值。使用开发的累积标准的 ROC 曲线下面积达到 0.87-0.89。这项研究可以构成使用 CP OCT 图像实时评估尿道状态的评分系统的基础。CP OCT 方法提供了传统膀胱镜检查无法获得的有关尿道组织状态的信息。多个视觉标志的联合使用比单独使用标准具有更大的诊断价值。使用开发的累积标准的 ROC 曲线下面积达到 0.87-0.89。这项研究可以构成使用 CP OCT 图像实时评估尿道状态的评分系统的基础。CP OCT 方法提供了传统膀胱镜检查无法获得的有关尿道组织状态的信息。