Quantitative Tissue Elasticity Measurement of Human Cadaver Oesophagus by Using Vibrational Optical Coherence Elastography

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Synopsis: 

The paper uses vibrational optical coherence elastography (VOCE). It presents a preliminary study on the potential of OCT and VOCE in evaluating the mechanical and structural properties of the esophagus wall. The authors obtained quantitative measurements of each sample layer's thickness, back-scattered light intensity, and elasticity by examining 52 esophageal tissue samples from 7 human Thiel-embalmed cadavers. The paper is well-written, and the results are presented clearly. The methodology and analysis are sound, and the findings are interesting and potentially valuable for diagnosing esophageal disease. 

Comments: 

1. The authors provide background information and explain the significance of their research in the context of clinical applications. 

 

2. The methodology and results are clearly presented and easy to follow, detailing samples used and the imaging techniques applied. 

 

3. The paper would benefit from additional discussion and interpretation of the results. The authors briefly mention the feasibility of applying OCT and vibrational OCE in the clinical diagnosis of esophageal disease, but a more detailed discussion and analysis of the potential clinical implications would be valuable. Specifically, authors can add a scatter plot with the Phs-OCT backscattered intensity in one plane and the OCE values in the other and observe if there is separation/formation of clusters that denote delineation of layers. 

 

4. Also helpful to provide more information on the limitations and potential sources of error in the methodology and how the authors addressed these issues. 

 

5. Did the authors observe artifacts due to reflected waves? Cadaveric stiffening or mismatch in density usually induces reflection artifacts. Was any processing beyond what’s described used to remove reflections? 

 

6. The language and writing style of the paper is generally clear and concise, but there are a few areas where the wording could be improved or clarified. For example, the sentence "The quantitative elasticity results obtained by vibrational OCE corresponded with the trend of collagen distribution in each sample layer" could be rephrased for greater clarity. 

 

Overall, the paper presents interesting findings and contributes to the literature on using OCT and vibrational OCE in esophageal tissue characterization. With some additional discussion and clarification, the article can benefit from a minor revision. 

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

This research explored the potential of OCT and VOCE to evaluate both structural and mechanical properties of oesophagus wall. The purposed techniques and method are capable in the human oesophageal tissue mechanical properties characterization, and it can be applied in the assessment of the pathological changes in the human oesophagus. It shows some innovation. I suggest major revision.

Comments 1:

What is the focus and innovation of this paper? What are the key scientific issues in this paper? It needs further introduction.

Comments 2:

What are the difficulties and challenge of this study? It needs further introduction.

Comments 3:

How to reflect the difference of results between different people, different tissues and different storage times?

Comments 4: Does the storage time affect the results, e.g. mechanical strength? How to influence it?

Comments 5: What is the clinical application of this research result? What is the specific application or a potential application of the work?

Comments 6: How to verify the accuracy of mechanical properties?

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

This research explored the potential of OCT and VOCE to evaluate both structural and mechanical properties of oesophagus wall. The purposed techniques and method are capable in the human oesophageal tissue mechanical properties characterization, and it can be applied in the assessment of the pathological changes in the human oesophagus. It shows some innovation and authors have well revised it. I suggest it can be acceptable.