A Miniature Dual-Fiber Probe for Quantitative Optical Coherence Elastography.

Abstract

We present a miniaturized dual-fiber OCE probe of 1 mm diameter allowing for robust shear wave elastography. Shear wave velocity is estimated between two optics and hence independent of wave propagation between excitation and imaging. We quantify the wave propagation by evaluating either a single or two measurement points. Particularly, we compare both approaches to ultrasound elastography. Our experimental results demonstrate that quantification of local tissue elasticities is feasible. For homogeneous soft tissue phantoms, we obtain mean deviations of 0.15 ms-1 and 0.02 ms-1 for single-fiber and dual-fiber OCE, respectively. In inhomogeneous phantoms, we measure mean deviations of up to 0.54 ms-1 and 0.03 ms-1 for single-fiber and dual-fiber OCE, respectively. We present a dual-fiber OCE approach that is much more robust in inhomogeneous tissues. Moreover, we demonstrate the feasibility of elasticity quantification in ex-vivo coronary arteries. This study introduces an approach for robust elasticity quantification from within the tissue.