Feasibility and preliminary accuracy of high-resolution imaging of the liver and pancreas using FNA compatible microendoscopy (with video).

Background: EUS-guided FNA is one of the few techniques that can obtain cells and tissue from the liver and pancreas. However, the technique remains vulnerable to poor specimen quality and sampling error.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of a high-resolution microendoscope (HRME) to visualize the cellular and architectural features of normal and malignant liver and pancreatic tissue ex vivo, to assess the ability of endosonographers to identify normal and neoplastic tissue by using HRME images, and to demonstrate preliminary technical feasibility of in vivo HRME imaging via EUS fine-needle puncture (FNP).