title: Optical coherence microscopy in 1700 nm spectral band for high-resolution label-free deep-tissue imaging.
abstract: Optical coherence microscopy (OCM) is a label-free, high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) imaging technique based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) and confocal microscopy. Here, we report that the 1700-nm spectral band has the great potential to improve the imaging depth in high-resolution OCM imaging of animal tissues. Recent studies to improve the imaging depth in OCT revealed that the 1700-nm spectral band is a promising choice for imaging turbid scattering tissues due to the low attenuation of light in the wavelength region. In this study, we developed high-resolution OCM by using a high-power supercontinuum source in the 1700-nm spectral band, and compared the attenuation of signal-to-noise ratio between the 1700-nm and 1300-nm OCM imaging of a mouse brain under the condition of the same sensitivity. The comparison clearly showed that the 1700-nm OCM provides larger imaging depth than the 1300-nm OCM. In this 1700-nm OCM, the lateral resolution of 1.3 μm and the axial resolution of 2.8 μm, when a refractive index was assumed to be 1.38, was achieved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantum Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantum Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuhiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teranishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantum Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawagoe
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantum Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Norihiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nishizawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D013552:Swine; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*