Table 1
Comparison of current and investigational imaging technologies
	Radiology			Endoscopy	Endomicroscopy
Resolution	1 cm	1 mm	100 μm	~100 μm	10 μm	1 μm
Field of view	50+ cm	30+ cm	2–5 cm	140°	3 mm	0.3 mm
Technology	Radio nucleotide, DOT, PET	MRI, CT, US	EUS, IVMRI, X-ray	Standard and high-definition video endoscopes	OFDI, OCT	SECM, Micro OCT, FFOCM
	Organ	Organ	Organ	Tissue surface	Architectural	Cellular
	Thallium	MRI	US	White light	OCT*	CM

*Volumetric.

CM = confocal microscopy; CT = computed tomography; EUS = endoscopic ultrasound; IV = intravenous; FFOCM = full-field optical coherence microscopy; MRI = magnetic resonance imaging; OCT = optical coherence tomography; OFDI = optical frequency domain imaging; PET = positive emission tomography; SECM = spectrally encoded confocal microscopy; US = ultrasound.

Carignan and Yagi Diagnostic Pathology 2012 7:98   doi:10.1186/1746-1596-7-98