UF expert edits book on cutting-edge imaging and treatment technique

University of Florida faculty member Dr. Manoop S. Bhutani recently edited the first textbook dedicated to interventional endoscopic ultrasonography, an emerging field that enables physicians to not only image internal body structures, but also perform tissue biopsies and inject therapeutic substances directly into a diseased area.

With contributions from experts throughout the world, “Interventional Endoscopic Ultrasonography,” published by Harwood Academic Publishers, offers a wealth of information on instruments, techniques and teaching methods in the field.

Through endoscopic ultrasonography, physicians insert an endoscope, a flexible instrument with a lens, into natural body openings. Once inside the body, a sophisticated ultrasound probe located at the tip of the endoscope provides high resolution images, enabling physicians to not only see the innermost lining of body cavities, but also the deeper layers of the structure and the area immediately beyond the structure’s wall.

Endoscopic ultrasonography becomes an interventional procedure when used to guide a needle into the esophagus, stomach, small intestines, pancreas and chest. This enables physicians to avoid more invasive procedures as they conduct biopsies and administer anesthesia or other forms of medication.

Bhutani, an associate professor in the department of medicine’s division of gastroenterology, contributed five of the 22 chapters in the book including a look ahead at the future of the field.

“We feel that this is just the beginning of a fascinating area,” said Bhutani, who also directs the Center for Endoscopic Ultrasound and Center for Experimental Endoscopy. “As rapid advances in molecular biology and genetics continue to take place, this may be a technique that will bring the progress in the laboratory to clinical application in the patient as a method of delivering new molecular, biological and genetic advances.”