title: Swept-source optical coherence tomography powered by a 1.3-μm vertical cavity surface emitting laser enables 2.3-mm-deep brain imaging in mice in vivo.
abstract: We report noninvasive, in vivo optical imaging deep within a mouse brain by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), enabled by a 1.3-μm vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). VCSEL SS-OCT offers a constant signal sensitivity of 105 dB throughout an entire depth of 4.25 mm in air, ensuring an extended usable imaging depth range of more than 2 mm in turbid biological tissue. Using this approach, we show deep brain imaging in mice with an open-skull cranial window preparation, revealing intact mouse brain anatomy from the superficial cerebral cortex to the deep hippocampus. VCSEL SS-OCT would be applicable to small animal studies for the investigation of deep tissue compartments in living brains where diseases such as dementia and tumor can take their toll.
authors.forename: Woo June
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Ruikang K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007834:Lasers; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation*