KEYWORDS: Angiography, Laser therapeutics, Optical coherence tomography, Global system for mobile communications, Endoscopy, Biopsy, Vagina, Tissues, Statistical analysis, Medicine
Fractional CO2 laser therapy holds potential for treating the Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM). However, it remains controversial in female pelvic medicine. Here, we developed a non-invasive intravaginal OCT/OCT angiography (OCTA) endoscope. This system can simultaneously obtain both structural and vascular information during vaginal laser procedures. Our clinical research involved 25 post-menopausal GSM patients and took OCT/OCTA scans from four distinct vaginal regions throughout treatment sessions. With the help of deep learning, we measured Vaginal Epithelial Thickness (VET). We used OCTA to monitor Blood Vessel Density (BVD) and track vascular densification. We also conducted long-term follow-up experiments to assess the subsequential efficacy of laser treatment. Additionally, involving 45 women of varied menopausal stages, we analyzed their VET, BVD, and self-test scores to quantify the correlation between objective and subjective parameters. Our OCT/OCTA endoscope provides a noninvasive biopsy tool for gynecological research, aiding clinicians in evaluating tissue responses to laser treatments.
Despite the emerging market in fractional-pixel CO2 lasers to treat Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM) in menopausal women, the effect of the laser treatment on vaginal tissue remains poorly understood. We developed an intravaginal OCT endoscope that can obtain structural and vascular information simultaneously during the vaginal laser procedure. Based on the monitoring and statistical analysis of the Vaginal Epithelial Thickness (VET) and Blood Vessel Density (BVD) along with the treatment for months, laser treatment shows a positive impact on vaginal health. This system can serve as a noninvasive biopsy tool in gynecological studies.
Despite the emerging market in energy-based devices to treat Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM) in menopausal women, the exact effect of the laser on vaginal tissue remains poorly understood. We developed a point-of-care intravaginal endoscope that can obtain simultaneous information on structural and vascular information during the vaginal laser procedure. We evaluated the capability of assessing the treatment outcome by investigating patients receiving the CO2 fractional laser treatment. Our study supports the hypothesis that the treatment effect highly depends on the initial tissue parameters such as epithelium thickness and vascular density.
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