title: Ultrahigh-resolution imaging of human donor cornea using full-field optical coherence tomography.
abstract: A feasibility study of ultrahigh-resolution full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-OCT) for a subcellular-level imaging of human donor corneas is presented. The FF-OCT system employed in this experiment is based on a white light interference microscope, where the sample is illuminated by a thermal light source and a horizontal cross-sectional (en face) image is detected using a charge coupled device (CCD) camera. A conventional four-frame phase-shift detection technique is employed to extract the interferometric image from the CCD output. A 95-nm-broadband full-field illumination yields an axial resolution of 2.0 microm, and the system covers an area of 850 microm x 850 microm with a transverse resolution of 2.4 microm using a 0.3-NA microscope objective and a CCD camera with 512 x 512 pixels. Starting a measurement from the epithelial to the endothelial side, a series of en face images was obtained. From detected en face images, the epithelial cells, Bowman's layer, stromal keratocyte, nerve fiber, Descemet's membrane, and endothelial cell were clearly observed. Keratocyte cytoplasm, its nuclei, and its processes were also separately detected. Two-dimensional interconnectivity of the keratocytes is visualized, and the keratocytes existing between collagen lamellaes are separately extracted by exploiting a high axial resolution ability of FF-OCT.
authors.affiliation: Yamagata Promotional Organization for Industrial Technology, Yamagata, Japan. makiba@topcon.com
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akiba
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yumikake
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soma
authors.forename: Kohji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tano
authors.forename: Kin Pui
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D003315:Cornea / Q000166:cytology*; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008857:Microscopy, Interference / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D019721:Ophthalmoscopes; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014019:Tissue Donors; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods