OCT monitoring of pathophysiological processes

Based on results of clinical examination of about 200 patients we discuss capabilities of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) in monitoring and diagnosing of various pathophysiological processes. Performed in several clinical areas including dermatology, urology, laryngology, gynecology, and dentistry, our study shows the existence of common optical features in manifestation of a pathophysiological process in different organs. In this paper we focus at such universal tomographic optical signs for processes of inflammation, necrosis and tumor growth. We also present data on dynamical OCT monitoring of evolution of pathophysiological processes, both at the stage of disease development and following-up results of different treatments such as drug application, radiation therapy, cryodestruction, and laser vaporization. The discovered peculiarities of OCT images for structural and functional imaging of biological tissues can be put as a basis for application of this method for diagnosing of pathology, guidance of treatment, estimation of its adequacy and assessing of the healing process.