Validation of an ex vivo human cervical tissue model for optical imaging studies

Objective To establish and validate an ex vivo human cervical tissue model for optical coherence tomography (OCT) studies with special emphasis on investigating time dependent structural changes of the epithelium. Methods Four hundred OCT images were taken from 80 unsuspicious and suspicious areas of 18 fresh conisation specimens immediately after resection (0 hour) and 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours, referred to as waiting times in the following, postoperatively and compared to the corresponding histology. For each 2D‐OCT‐image, a 1D‐intensity profile was generated. The profiles were analyzed with respect to systematic differences which may result from different waiting times, employing discriminant analysis (DA). Results The different waiting times do not appear to imply significant differences among the corresponding OCT‐images as represented by the intensity profiles. Conclusion We conclude that the proposed cervical tissue model appears to be applicable for ex vivo OCT studies. Lasers Surg. Med. 44:245–248, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.