Chromoendoscopy and other novel imaging techniques

The newly developed high-resolution and magnification endoscopes offer features that allow more and new mucosal details to be seen. They are commonly used in conjunction with chromoendoscopy. The analysis of mucosal surface details is beginning to resemble histologic examination. More accurate recognition of small flat and depressed neoplastic lesions is possible. Endoscopic prediction of neoplastic and nonneoplastic tissue is possible by analysis of surface architecture of the mucosa, which influences the endoscopic management. For the diagnosis of flat adenomas, chromoendoscopy should be a part of the endoscopist's armamentarium. In inflammatory bowel disease, chromoendoscopy can be used for patients with long-standing UC to unmask flat intraepithelial neoplasia and is likely to become the new standard method for surveillance colonoscopy in the near future. The new detailed images seen with magnifying chromoendoscopy are the beginning of a new era in which advances in optical development, such as confocal endomicroscopy, allow a unique look at detailed cellular structures.