Optical coherence elastography and Brillouin spectroscopy for tissue biomechanics

Abstract

Quantifying the biomechanical properties of the different tissues can provide crucial information for disease detection and guiding precision therapeutic interventions. Optical coherence elastography (OCE) is an emerging technique to assess the mechanical properties of tissues completely noninvasively. Typically, elastography involves an external mechanical excitation of the tissue. We recently adopted the air-coupled acoustic radiation force method to generate elastic waves in tissues. This method shows several clear advantages other than the traditionally used air-puff excitation. Also, there is increased interest in passive elastography, where the mechanical response to natural physiological forces like heartbeat and respiration is measured. I will demonstrate the capability of OCE to measure tissue biomechanics in response to spatially varying fluctuations in IOP due to the heartbeat—thus, without any external force. Finally, I will demonstrate a few examples of the application of Brillouin spectroscopy to quantify tissue mechanical properties during Neural Tube Closure in mammalian embryos.