BACKGROUND Precise identification, discrimination and assessment of central nervous system (CNS) tumors is of critical importance to brain neoplasm treatment. Due to the complexity and limited resolutions of the existing diagnostic tools, however, it is difficult to identify the tumors and their boundaries precisely in clinical practice, and thus, the conventional way of brain neoplasm treatment relies mainly on the experiences of neurosurgeons to make resection decisions in the surgery process. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of Micro-optical coherence tomography (μOCT) as an intraoperative diagnostic imaging tool for identifying and discriminating glioma and meningioma with their microstructure imaging ex vivo, which thus may help neurosurgeons to perform precise surgery with low costs and reduced burdens. METHODS Fresh glioma and meningioma samples were resected from patients, and then slices of such samples were excised and imaged instantly ex vivo with a lab-built μOCT, which achieves a spatial resolution of ~ 2.0 μm (μm). The acquired optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were pathologically evaluated and compared to their corresponding histology for both tumor type and tumor grade discriminations in different cases. RESULTS By using the lab-built μOCT, both the cross-sectional and en face images of glioma and meningioma were acquired ex vivo. Based upon the morphology results, both the glioma and meningioma types as well as the glioma grades were assessed and discriminated. Comparisons between OCT imaging results and histology showed that typical tissue microstructures of glioma and meningioma could be clearly identified and confirmed the type and grade discriminations with satisfactory accuracy. CONCLUSIONS μOCT could provide high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the glioma and meningioma tissue microstructures rapidly ex vivo. μOCT imaging results could help discriminate both tumor types and grades, which illustrates the potential of μOCT as an intraoperative diagnostic imaging tool to help neurosurgeons perform their surgery precisely in tumor treatment process.

中文翻译：

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用于快速脑肿瘤类型和分级鉴别的微光学相干断层扫描 (μOCT) 的可行性评估：μOCT 图像与病理学。

背景技术中枢神经系统（CNS）肿瘤的精确识别、辨别和评估对于脑肿瘤的治疗至关重要。然而，由于现有诊断工具的复杂性和分辨率有限，在临床实践中很难准确识别肿瘤及其边界，因此传统的脑肿瘤治疗方式主要依靠神经外科医生的经验进行切除手术过程中的决定。本研究的目的是探索微光学相干断层扫描（μOCT）作为术中​​诊断成像工具的潜力，通过离体显微结构成像来识别和区分神经胶质瘤和脑膜瘤，从而帮助神经外科医生以较低的成本进行精确手术。成本和负担减轻。方法 从患者身上切除新鲜的神经胶质瘤和脑膜瘤样本，然后切除此类样本的切片并使用实验室构建的 μOCT 立即离体成像，其空间分辨率达到约 2.0 μm (μm)。对获得的光学相干断层扫描（OCT）图像进行病理学评估，并与其相应的组织学进行比较，以区分不同病例的肿瘤类型和肿瘤级别。结果通过使用实验室构建的μOCT，离体获得了神经胶质瘤和脑膜瘤的横截面和正面图像。根据形态学结果，对神经胶质瘤和脑膜瘤类型以及神经胶质瘤分级进行评估和区分。OCT成像结果与组织学的比较表明，可以清晰地识别胶质瘤和脑膜瘤的典型组织微观结构，并以令人满意的精度确认类型和级别的判别。结论 μOCT 可以快速提供神经胶质瘤和脑膜瘤组织微结构的高分辨率三维 (3D) 离体成像。μOCT成像结果可以帮助区分肿瘤类型和分级，这说明μOCT作为术中诊断成像工具的潜力，可以帮助神经外科医生在肿瘤治疗过程中精确地进行手术。