have helped drone aircraft see through cloud cover — give users a
7 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A Y 2 0 1 6
Limiting the Light Makes
Vasculature More Visible
Narrow Band Imaging, a propri-
etary technology incorporated into
Olympus's flexible endoscopes,
provides gastroenterologists and
urologists with a high-contrast
view of mucosal surfaces, their
blood vessels and even the
boundaries of lesions lurking
there, without the use of contrast
agents. How? Its insights are
powered by selective illumination.
In a laparoscopic view of
anatomy, white light — which is
made up of all the colors of the
spectrum — reflects off the subject, enabling its visualization. Specific wavelengths of light,
however, are capable of penetrating the surface. And hemoglobin absorbs blue and green wave-
lengths. So when Olympus's scopes are activated to filter their light sources from white light
down to narrow bands of blue and green, the resulting illumination emphasizes the blood ves-
sels over the mucosa's non-vascular feature. Capillary networks on the surface appear brown,
while deeper veins appear cyan.
While Narrow Band Imaging uses direct illumination to deliver contrast imaging, other scope
manufacturers' proprietary electronic chromoendoscopy systems employ software-driven digital
image processing to enhance their views. Fujifilm's FICE (Flexible Spectral Imaging Color
Enhancement), Pentax's i-SCAN and EndoChoice's recently announced Lumos Adaptive Matrix
Imaging (awaiting FDA approval for the company's Fuse scope) analyze white light to selectively
highlight specific wavelengths of reflected light and anatomical features. — David Bernard
• BEFORE AND AFTER In comparison to white-light visualization (top), Narrow
Band Imaging (bottom) more clearly highlights the pathology of bladder cancer.
Olympus
Olympus America | Narrow Band Imaging
