Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction: A non-invasive test to accurately diagnose and quantify vocal fold (VF) scarring from other confounding pathologies would be advantageous to reduce the need for operative diagnostic laryngoscopy. Dynamic optical contrast imaging (DOCI) technology uses tissue autofluorescence to obtain real-time information of tissue composition. In this study, we describe a novel application of DOCI to identify scar tissue formation in rabbit VFs. Methods: Rabbits underwent endoscopic unilateral VF cordectomy to induce scar formation. After 2 months, VFs were excised and a bench-top DOCI (UCLA) system was employed to capture images from sections. Results were verified with histologic staining for scar tissue. Results: < 0.05). All DOCI images of healthy and scarred VF sections correlated with histological assessment. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that DOCI technology can discriminate between normal and scarred VFs noninvasively and in real time with similar accuracy to that of histological analysis. This work lays the foundation for the development of a DOCI-based endoscope for diagnosis and quantification of VF scar formation as well as a tool to measure treatment response.
DOI: 10.1002/lio2.70350
Language: English
Topic: Voice and Speech Disorders
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,900
Funders: American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of California, Los Angeles
OpenAlex ID: W7127075584