ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Otorinolaringologia 2017 September;67(3):81-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0392-6621.17.02117-8

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Chromoendoscopy in otorhinolaryngology. Experience with the SPIES® System

Stefano DALLARI ✉, Adriano CASTRIOTTA, Domenico DURSO

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, A. Murri Hospital, Fermo, Italy

BACKGROUND: Electronic chromoendoscopy allows to enhance specific colors and to better explore the mucosal surface and the underlying vasculature in order to detect early pathologic changes. The market offers two kinds of systems: a preprocessed one, where the illuminating light is previously filtered and a postprocessed one, where the HD camera itself digitally elaborates the image. The preprocessed technology has already been widely experimented and validated for the ear, nose, throat (ENT) field while very little experience, if any, has been gained in ENT endoscopy with the postprocessed systems. The aim of this preliminary study was to compare the standards already achieved for the preprocessed systems with the performance of a postprocessed one, the Storz SPIES System.
METHODS: Forty-five ENT patients were examined. During the surgical procedures the SPIES system HD camera was used both with the standard white light and as color enhancer for better visualization of the tissue pathologic changes on the HD monitor and for simultaneous recording. The authors’ comments were recorded and later shared and compared.
RESULTS: In the authors’ opinion the postprocessed systems allow a wider enhancement of the pathologic mucosal and vascular changes than the simple (two) narrow band filtering. Moreover, with more filtering possibilities the image processing can be customized and the equipment itself seems better suitable for implementing the further technical improvements that most probably will come.
CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic empowerment that electronic chromoendoscopy guarantees is confirmed and the postprocessed systems, like the Storz SPIES, seem to represent an improvement in terms of versatility and spectrum.

KEY WORDS: Endoscopy - Head and neck neoplasms - Early detection of cancer