Optical imaging to enhance precision during invasive medical procedures

High-definition white light endoscopy is the current gold standard in screening for precancerous lesions or cancer in the gastrointestinal tract. However, specifically in high risk individuals the miss rates remain too high. These patients being under increased risk to develop gastrointestinal cancer (e.g. inflammatory bowel disease, Lynch syndrome or Barrett's esophagus) show often lesions that tend to be flat and subtle. Fluorescence augmented endoscopy enables visualization of (pre)malignant lesions based on specific molecular markers rather than morphology alone. Using fluorescently labeled molecular probes binding to specific molecular targets, the endoscopist will be optically guided to lesions of interest. This strategy has the potential to serve as a valuable tool for the clinician to improve endoscopic lesion detection, real-time clinical decision making as well as optical-guided resection of lesions during flexible endoscopy.