Imaging of the interaction of low-frequency electric fields with biological tissues by optical coherence tomography.
Low-frequency electric fields propagating in ex vivo biological tissues have been observed by using double-correlation optical coherence tomography (OCT). An adaptive Wiener filtering approach has been used to remove background noise, and a Fourier domain correlation algorithm has been applied to the sequence of OCT images. The results present the first direct observation (to our knowledge) of the scope of the electric field influencing biological tissues with OCT. The results show that variation in voltage and frequency of the applied electric field relates exponentially to the magnitude of its influence on biological tissue. The magnitude of influence is about twice more for fresh tissue samples in comparison to nonfresh ones. The obtained results suggest that OCT can be used for observation and quantitative evaluation of the electrokinetic changes in biological tissues under different physiological conditions, functional electrical stimulation, and food quality control.
The Jack Dodd Centre for Quantum Technology, Department of Physics, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Adrian F
AF
Peña
Jack
J
Devine
Alexander
A
Doronin
Igor
I
Meglinski
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D004560:Electricity; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008460:Meat; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*