Extended full-field optical coherence microscopy

Abstract

Full-field optical coherence microscopy (FF-OCM) is a recent optical technology based on low-coherence interference microscopy for semi-transparent sample imaging with ∼ 1 μm spatial resolution. FF-OCM has been successfully applied to three-dimensional imaging of various biological tissues at cellular-level resolution. The contrast of FF-OCM images results from the intensity of light backscattered by the sample microstructures. This contrast mechanism, based on refractive index changes, provides information on the internal architectural morphology of the sample. In this paper, we present a multimodal FF-OCM system, capable of measuring simultaneously the intensity, the power spectrum and the phase-retardation of light backscattered by the sample being imaged. Tomographic fluorescence-based images can also be produced by coupling to the FF-OCM set-up a fluorescence microscopy system with structured illumination. Fluorescence targeted probes can be used to identify molecular components of subcellular scattering structures. Compared to conventional FF-OCM, this multimodal system provides enhanced imaging contrasts at the price of a moderate increase in experimental complexity and cost.