Feasibility Study of Determining the Healing Phase of Achilles Tendon Rupture in Rats Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive technique for microscopic investigation of tissue. We thought that the OCT method could be a potential tool for monitoring the healing process of a tendon. In this study we used two rat models, denervated and non-denervated groups, to observe a variety of healing phases of Achilles tendon (AT) injury. We made samples of AT injury lesions, to take OCT images and to make histopathological samples of serial sectional tissue. In an OCT image the denervated rat showed no specific finding, but the non-denervated rat showed a large defect lesion that was scaffolding tissue. OCT findings combined with pathologic findings showed advantages in visualization of tendon microstructure over other imaging modalities such as MRI and US, and OCT is beneficial to making a treatment plan, especially the timing and intensity of rehabilitation. Therefore a multimodal platform using OCT for evaluation of tendon injury may be potentially useful for many applications.