Open AccessOptical coherence tomography in oral cancer: A transpiring domain
Author(s) -
Reddy Sudhakara Reddy,
Kotu Nagavenkata Sai Praveen
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of cancer research and therapeutics/journal of cancer research and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 0973-1482
pISSN - 1998-4138
DOI - 10.4103/0973-1482.180684
Subject(s) - optical coherence tomography , medicine , stage (stratigraphy) , cancer , medical physics , biopsy , modality (human–computer interaction) , radiology , disease , pathology , computer science , artificial intelligence , paleontology , biology
Identification of oral cancer at an early curable stage not only aids in controlling the mortality and morbidity rate but also improves the quality of life of the patient. Indeed, regular monitoring of such life-threatening disease has held an imperative role in cancer diagnostics. Various light-based diagnostics are currently available to the clinician for early diagnosis of oral cancer. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is one such emerging light-based diagnostic modality that provides noninvasive, real-time images at a depth of 1.5-2 mm and can also be compared to corresponding histopathological sections, hence this procedure can also be referred as optical biopsy. This technique can also be used as an adjunct to histopathology in circumstances where large areas are needed to be examined, screening apprehensive patients, larger populations, and for regular monitoring of patients. The current article is a brief review that highlights basic principle, various versions, and applications of OCT in the diagnosis of oral cancer.