In vivo microscopic imaging for diagnosis of fibrotic interstitial lung disease using endobronchial optical coherence tomography

Early, accurate diagnosis of interstitial lung disease (ILD) is critical for clinical management and therapeutic decision-making, especially distinguishing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) from non-IPF ILD. Unfortunately, current diagnostic imaging methods are limited in resolution and surgical biopsy methods are invasive. In this study, we evaluate the accuracy of endobronchial optical coherence tomography (EB-OCT) as a low-risk method for in vivo ILD diagnosis in patients undergoing surgical biopsy. EB-OCT was able to distinguish diagnostic microanatomical features of IPF from non-IPF ILDs, independently compared against surgical biopsy. These findings support the potential of OCT as a minimally-invasive method for IPF diagnosis.