title: Ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence elastography.
abstract: Visualizing stiffness within the local tissue environment at the cellular and subcellular level promises to provide insight into the genesis and progression of disease. In this Letter, we propose ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence elastography (UHROCE), and demonstrate 3D imaging of local axial strain of tissues undergoing compressive loading. We combine optical coherence microscopy (OCM) and phase-sensitive detection of local tissue displacement to produce strain elastograms with resolution (x,y,z) of 2×2×15  μm. We demonstrate this performance on a freshly excised mouse aorta and reveal the mechanical heterogeneity of vascular smooth muscle cells and elastin sheets, otherwise unresolved in a typical, lower resolution optical coherence elastography (OCE) system.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Curatolo
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villiger
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lorenser
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wijesinghe
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fritz
authors.forename: Brendan F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Sampson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D051379:Mice; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*