title: Polarization properties of single layers in the posterior eyes of mice and rats investigated using high resolution polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography.
abstract: We present a high resolution polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) system for ocular imaging in rodents. The system operates at 840 nm and uses a broadband superluminescent diode providing an axial resolution of 5.1 µm in air. PS-OCT data was acquired at 83 kHz A-scan rate by two identical custom-made spectrometers for orthogonal polarization states. Pigmented (Brown Norway, Long Evans) and non-pigmented (Sprague Dawley) rats as well as pigmented mice (C57BL/6) were imaged. Melanin pigment related depolarization was analyzed in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and choroid of these animals using the degree of polarization uniformity (DOPU). For all rat strains, significant differences between RPE and choroidal depolarization were observed. In contrast, DOPU characteristics of RPE and choroid were similar for C57BL/6 mice. Moreover, the depolarization within the same tissue type varied significantly between different rodent strains. Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, phase retardation, and birefringence were mapped and quantitatively measured in Long Evans rats in vivo for the first time. In a circumpapillary annulus, retinal nerve fiber layer birefringence amounted to 0.16°/µm ± 0.02°/µm and 0.17°/µm ± 0.01°/µm for the left and right eyes, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Stanislava
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fialová
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Augustin
authors.affiliation: University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Core Facility for Research and Technology, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Glösmann
authors.affiliation: University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Core Facility for Research and Technology, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Himmel
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Core Facility Imaging, Lazarettgasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rauscher
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Core Facility Imaging, Lazarettgasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gröger
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pircher
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Christoph K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Hitzenberger
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baumann
keywords: (110.0110) Imaging systems; (110.4500) Optical coherence tomography; (130.5440) Polarization-selective devices; (260.1440) Birefringence