The Value of I-Scan and Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy for the Assessment of Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Recently, Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (CLE) has been developed as a novel technique that actually enables in vivo microscopic analysis of the gastrointestinal tract, during ongoing endoscopy. The potential role of CLE has been explored in pathology of both upper and lower gastrointestinal tract, showing good accuracy for predicting the final histopathological diagnosis, based on immediate evaluation of tissue and vascular patterns. Because of its minute scanning area, this techology is best used in conjunction with other "red-flag" techniques to screen the mucosa for areas of interest, which can then be examined by CLE for a histological diagnosis. I-scan technology (Pentax, Tokyo, Japan) is a new image-enhanced endoscopic technique that can achieve a virtual chromoendoscopy, but until now there have been no studies to determine the role of this technology in the evaluation of activity in inflammatory bowel disease. The study protocol is based on comparing imaging findings of p-CLE in conjunction with I-scan endoscopy with activity score and histological diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease. CLE might have an important role in IBD patients management, by assessing the inflammation, dysplasia or response to treatment.