title: Applicability, usability, and limitations of murine embryonic imaging with optical coherence tomography and optical projection tomography.
abstract: We present an analysis of imaging murine embryos at various embryonic developmental stages (embryonic day 9.5, 11.5, and 13.5) by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical projection tomography (OPT). We demonstrate that while OCT was capable of rapid high-resolution live 3D imaging, its limited penetration depth prevented visualization of deeper structures, particularly in later stage embryos. In contrast, OPT was able to image the whole embryos, but could not be used in vivo because the embryos must be fixed and cleared. Moreover, the fixation process significantly altered the embryo morphology, which was quantified by the volume of the eye-globes before and after fixation. All of these factors should be weighed when determining which imaging modality one should use to achieve particular goals of a study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, 3605 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, 77204, USA.
authors.forename: Manmohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, 3605 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, 77204, USA.
authors.forename: Raksha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raghunathan
authors.affiliation: Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, 77584, USA.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Piazza
authors.affiliation: Thorlabs, Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, 07860, USA.
authors.forename: Anjul M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Davis-Loiacono
authors.affiliation: Thorlabs, Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, 07860, USA.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cable
authors.affiliation: Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, 77584, USA.
authors.forename: Tegy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Vedakkan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, 3605 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, 77204, USA.
authors.forename: Trevor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Janecek
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, 3605 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, 77204, USA.
authors.forename: Michael V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Frazier
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, 3605 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, 77204, USA.
authors.forename: Achuth
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, 3605 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, 77204, USA.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, 77584, USA.
authors.forename: Irina V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Larina
authors.affiliation: Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, 77584, USA.
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Dickinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, 3605 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, 77204, USA; Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, 77584, USA; Department of Electrical Engineering, Samara National Research University, Samara, 34 Moskovskoye sh., 443086, Russia.
authors.forename: Kirill V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Larin
keywords: (110.4500) Optical coherence tomography; (110.6955) Tomographic imaging; (170.3880) Medical and biological imaging