Blue light illumination for minimally-invasive fluorescence detection of tumours: technology, clinical experience and future perspectives

Abstract

Endoscopic detection and differentiation of benign, precancerous and malignant tissue is difficult, especially in gastroenterology. Photodynamic techniques utilising tumour-specific fluorescence, e.g. induced by aminolevulinic acid (ALA) / protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), have been used to visualise and assess lesions. Originally requiring sophisticated laser technology, innovative excitation light sources have been recently developed for photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) to facilitate and broaden its clinical use. The characteristics of one of these devices, the D-Light (Karl Storz, Germany), are described. Current clinical applications and future perspectives of PDD are discussed.

Key Words:

• PDD
• ALA
• PpIX
• D-Light
• blue light