Preservation of the cavernous nerves during prostate cancer surgery is critical in preserving a man’s ability to have spontaneous erections following surgery. Because of the close proximity of the nerves to the prostate surface, they are at risk of injury during dissection and removal of a cancerous prostate gland. Improvements in imaging of the nerves during surgery would aid preservation of the nerves and improve post-operative sexual potency.

OCT is an emerging noninvasive optical imaging technology used to perform real-time, high-resolution, cross-sectional, in vivo imaging of tissue microstructure by measuring backscattered near-infrared light in an analogous way to B-mode ultrasound imaging. Image resolutions of 1-15 ?m have been achieved which are several orders of magnitude higher than with ultrasound. Several features make OCT an attractive imaging technology for intraoperative surgical guidance. The OCT fiber optic probe can be integrated into existing surgical instruments, such as laparoscopes and endoscopes. OCT probes do not require a distal imaging transducer, and can be operated in non-contact mode, avoiding obstruction of the surgical field. The OCT system is compact and portable. Relatively low-cost OCT systems are commercially available using common optical components from the telecommunications industry.