Label-free imaging of bile duct tissues with multiphoton microscopy

The structural characteristics of bile duct tissue can indirectly reflect the physiological function of the bile duct, so understanding the pathological process of bile duct tissue can improve the prognosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. However, the existing technology cannot accurately and quickly determine the stage of the bile duct tissue lesion, which will have a certain impact on the treatment. In this study, normal bile ducts, inflammatory bile ducts, and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma were distinguished using label-free multiphoton microscopy (MPM). The experimental results show that high-resolution images can clearly distinguish normal bile duct, inflammatory bile duct and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma through cell morphology and tissue structure. Therefore, MPM can be used as an effective optical tool for the diagnosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in unstained histological sections. It is expected in the future that MPM can play a greater role in the clinic.