Identification of intestinal fibrosis using spectroscopic photoacoustic imaging: feasibility study in human subjects (Conference Presentation)

Identifying fibrosis against inflammation in the intestinal strictures is critical to the management of CD. Our pioneering study has shown that spectroscopic photoacoustic (PA) imaging is capable of differentiating inflammatory and fibrotic intestinal strictures in animals in vivo. We also validated the feasibility of acquiring PA signals from intestinal strictures transcutaneously. In this study, we further investigated the capability of transcutaneous PA imaging in characterizing intestinal inflammation and fibrosis in human subjects. The findings in PA imaging were validated by US Doppler images and histopathology.