Efficacy of Novel Multispectral Imaging Device to Determine Anastomosis for Esophagogastrostomy

Background: Biomedical imaging devices that utilize the optical characteristics of hemoglobin (Hb) have become widespread. In the field of gastroenterology, there is a strong demand for devices that can apply this technique to surgical navigation. We aimed to introduce our novel multispectral device capable of intraoperatively performing quantitative imaging of the oxygen (O ₂ ) saturation and Hb amount of tissues noninvasively and in real time, and to examine its application for deciding the appropriate anastomosis point after subtotal or total esophagectomy. Materials and methods: A total of 39 patients with esophageal cancer were studied. Tissue O ₂ saturation and Hb amount of the gastric tube just before esophagogastric anastomosis were evaluated using a multispectral tissue quantitative imaging device. The anastomosis point was decided depending on the quantitative values and patterns of both the tissue O ₂ saturation and Hb amount. Results: The device can instantaneously and noninvasively quantify and visualize the tissue O ₂ saturation and Hb amount using reflected light. The tissue Hb status could be classified into the following four types: good circulation type, congestion type, ischemia type, and mixed type of congestion and ischemia. Postoperative anastomotic failure occurred in 2 cases, and both were mixed cases. Conclusions: The method of quantitatively imaging the tissue O ₂ saturation and Hb level in real time and noninvasively using a multispectral device allows instantaneous determination of the anastomosis and related organ conditions, thereby contributing to determining the appropriate treatment direction.