Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026
Multimodality Diagnosis of Mesenteric Ischemia
Published on: July 21, 2023
Intraoperative NIR-II fluorescence imaging for assessment of bowel vascular morphology and inflammatory severity in
Yu Tian1,2, Zhen Zhang1,3, Xu Li1
1Department of Pediatric Surgery, Capital Center for Children's Health, Capital Medical University, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, 100020, People's Republic of China.
Purpose:
To evaluate the feasibility of near-infrared II (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging for intraoperative assessment of vascular morphology and inflammatory severity at the planned anastomotic site in children with Hirschsprung's disease (HD).
Methods:
Seventeen children with HD underwent intraoperative indocyanine green fluorescence angiography during pull-through surgery. Capillary phantom experiments were performed to compare near-infrared I (NIR-I) and NIR-II imaging. Signal-to-background ratio (SBR), vessel delineation, and the association between fluorescence findings and histopathologic inflammatory grade were analyzed. Postoperative outcomes were explored in patients with complete follow-up.
Results:
NIR-II imaging provided clearer visualization of arteries, veins, and deeper microvasculature than NIR-I, with a significantly higher SBR. NIR-II SBR was associated with histopathologic inflammatory grade, and an SBR < 1.17 was associated with severe mucosal inflammation. Long-term follow-up was available for 10 patients (40-66 months). Patients with less favorable postoperative outcomes showed numerically lower NIR-II SBR values, but these differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusion:
NIR-II fluorescence imaging improves intraoperative vascular visualization and shows promise for assessing inflammatory severity in HD. Its association with postoperative outcomes remains exploratory and requires validation in larger prospective studies.
