Imaging deep skeletal muscle structure using a high-sensitivity ultrathin side-viewing optical coherence tomography needle probe.
We have developed an extremely miniaturized optical coherence tomography (OCT) needle probe (outer diameter 310 µm) with high sensitivity (108 dB) to enable minimally invasive imaging of cellular structure deep within skeletal muscle. Three-dimensional volumetric images were acquired from ex vivo mouse tissue, examining both healthy and pathological dystrophic muscle. Individual myofibers were visualized as striations in the images. Degradation of cellular structure in necrotic regions was seen as a loss of these striations. Tendon and connective tissue were also visualized. The observed structures were validated against co-registered hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) histology sections. These images of internal cellular structure of skeletal muscle acquired with an OCT needle probe demonstrate the potential of this technique to visualize structure at the microscopic level deep in biological tissue in situ.
Optical + Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, School of Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Xiaojie
X
Yang
Optical + Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, School of Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Dirk
D
Lorenser
Optical + Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, School of Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Robert A
RA
McLaughlin
Optical + Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, School of Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Rodney W
RW
Kirk
Photon Factory, School of Chemical Sciences & Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Matthew
M
Edmond
Photon Factory, School of Chemical Sciences & Department of Physics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
M Cather
MC
Simpson
School of Anatomy, Physiology, and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia.
Miranda D
MD
Grounds
Optical + Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, School of Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia ; Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
David D
DD
Sampson
(060.2370) Fiber optics sensors; (170.4500) Optical coherence tomography; (170.6935) Tissue characterization; (230.3990) Micro-optical devices