title: Polarization sensitive optical coherence microscopy for brain imaging.
abstract: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence microscopy (OCM) have demonstrated the ability to investigate cyto- and myelo-architecture in the brain. Polarization-sensitive OCT provides sensitivity to additional contrast mechanisms, specifically the birefringence of myelination and, therefore, is advantageous for investigating white matter fiber tracts. In this Letter, we developed a polarization-sensitive optical coherence microscope (PS-OCM) with a 3.5 μm axial and 1.3 μm transverse resolution to investigate fiber organization and orientation at a finer scale than previously demonstrated with PS-OCT. In a reconstructed mouse brain section, we showed that at the focal depths of 20-70 μm, the PS-OCM reliably identifies the neuronal fibers and quantifies the in-plane orientation.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Taner
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akkin
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Magnain
authors.forename: Ruopeng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dubb
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Kostis
authors.forename: Mohammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Yaseen
authors.forename: Avilash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cramer
authors.forename: Sava
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakadžić
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001718:Birefringence; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D051379:Mice; D008859:Microscopy, Polarization / Q000379:methods*; D059906:Neuroimaging; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*