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Is Real-Time Microscopy on the Horizon? A Brief Review of the Potential Future Directions in Clinical Breast Tumor Microscopy Implementation

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Abstract

We will briefly review the current paradigm and some recent developments in the area of clinical breast microscopy, highlighting several promising commercially available, and research-based platforms. Confocal microscopy (reflectance, fluorescence, and spectrally encoded), optical coherence tomography (wide field and full field), stereomicroscopy, open-top light sheet microscopy, microscopy with ultraviolet surface excitation, nonlinear microscopy, Raman scattering microscopy, photoacoustic microscopy, and needle microendoscopy will be discussed. Non-microscopic methods for breast pathology assessment are beyond the scope of this review. These microscopic technologies have to varying degrees the potential for transforming breast cancer care, but in order for any of these to be integrated into clinical practice there are several hurdles to overcome. In our review we will focus on what needs to be done in order for the commercially available technologies to become more established, what the technologies in the research domain need to do in order to reach the commercial realm; and finally, what the field of breast pathology might look like if these technologies were to be widely adopted.

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Reproduced with permission from Hank Schmidt. Ref 24, Breast

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Reproduced with permission from Shu Wang, Ref 25, Cancer

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© The Optical Society, Biomed Opt Express

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Reproduced with permission from Jonathan TC Liu. Ref 31, J Biomed Opt

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Reproduced with permission from Dan Fu. Ref 36, Theranostics

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Reproduced with permission from Lihong V Wang. Ref 38, Sci Adv

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Funding

Dr. Sgroi funded in part by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (DCS).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Dan R. Lopez & Guillermo Tearney

  2. Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Dennis Sgroi & Guillermo Tearney

  3. Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Guillermo Tearney

  4. Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Savitri Krishnamourthy

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  1. Dan R. Lopez
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Contributions

Dr. Lopez performed manuscript preparation, editing, proofreading, image preparation and permissions.

Dr. Sgroi done manuscript revision and editing.

Dr. Krishnamourthy contributed to manuscript revision, editing, and image preparation.

Dr. Tearney performed manuscript revision and editing.

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Correspondence to Dan R. Lopez.

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Dr. Krishnamurthy sponsored research agreements with Caliber ID and Perimeter Medical Imaging for investigator initiated research.

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Lopez, D.R., Sgroi, D., Krishnamourthy, S. et al. Is Real-Time Microscopy on the Horizon? A Brief Review of the Potential Future Directions in Clinical Breast Tumor Microscopy Implementation. Virchows Arch 480, 211–227 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-022-03300-z

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