Abstract
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) enables noninvasive, high-resolution imaging of tissue polarization properties. In the anterior segments of human eyes, PS-OCT allows the visualization of birefringent and depolarizing structures. We present the use of PS-OCT for imaging the murine anterior eye. Using a spectral domain PS-OCT setup operating in the 840-nm regime, we performed in vivo volumetric imaging in anesthetized C57BL/6 mice. The polarization properties of murine anterior eye structures largely replicated those known from human PS-OCT imagery, suggesting that the mouse eye may also serve as a model system under polarization contrast. However, dissimilarities were found in the depolarizing structure of the iris which, as we confirmed in postmortem histological sections, were caused by anatomical differences between both species. In addition to the imaging of tissues in the anterior chamber and the iridocorneal angle, we demonstrate longitudinal PS-OCT imaging of the murine anterior segment during mydriasis as well as birefringence imaging of corneal pathology in an aged mouse.
Highlights
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) combines the high-resolution imaging capabilities of OCT with polarization contrast.[1,2] Polarization of light thereby may provide additional image contrast based on inherent polarization properties related to the textural organization of tissues, such that structures can be distinguished for example based on their birefringent characteristics
Baumann et al.: Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography imaging of the anterior mouse eye we aim to investigate the polarization properties of the healthy murine eye and demonstrate the potential of PS-OCT as a tool for imaging structural changes in the anterior mouse eye with enhanced contrast
PS-OCT imaging was performed in the anterior eye segments of C57BL/6 mice
Summary
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) combines the high-resolution imaging capabilities of OCT with polarization contrast.[1,2] Polarization of light thereby may provide additional image contrast based on inherent polarization properties related to the textural organization of tissues, such that structures can be distinguished for example based on their birefringent characteristics. PS-OCT can be used to distinguish: (a) fibrous tissues exhibiting birefringence including the retinal nerve fiber layer, sclera, cornea, and tendons of extraocular muscles;[4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13] (b) pigmented structures exhibiting polarization scrambling including the retinal pigment epithelium, the choroid, and the pigment epithelium of the iris;[5,14] and (c) polarization preserving tissues including the iridal stroma, conjunctive tissue, and most of the neurosensory retina such as the photoreceptor layer.[5,15] PS-OCT has proven useful for imaging and quantitative assessment of retinal pathology in age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, central serous retinopathy, and diabetic retinopathy.[8,16,17,18,19,20,21]
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