Abstract
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) is an augmented form of OCT, providing 3D images of both tissue structure and polarization properties. We developed a new method of polarization-sensitive optical frequency domain imaging (PS-OFDI), which is based on a wavelength-swept source. In this method the sample was illuminated with unpolarized light, which was composed of two orthogonal polarization states (i.e., separated by 180° in the Poincaré sphere) that are uncorrelated to each other. Reflection of these polarization states from within the sample was detected simultaneously and independently using a frequency multiplexing scheme. This simultaneous sample probing with two polarization states enabled determination of the depth-resolved Jones matrices of the sample. Polarization properties of the sample were obtained by analyzing the sample Jones matrices through eigenvector decomposition. The new PS-OFDI system ran at 31K wavelength-scans/s with 3072 pixels per wavelength-scan, and was tested by imaging a polarizer and several birefringent tissues such as chicken muscle and human skin. Lastly the new PS-OFDI was applied to imaging two cancer animal models: a mouse model by injecting cancer cells and a hamster cheek pouch model. These animal model studies demonstrated the significant differences in tissue polarization properties between cancer and normal tissues in vivo.
Highlights
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) is an augmented form of OCT [1,2]
We developed a new method of polarizationsensitive optical frequency domain imaging (PS-OFDI), which is based on a wavelength-swept source
In this method the sample was illuminated with unpolarized light, which was composed of two orthogonal polarization states that are uncorrelated to each other
Summary
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) is an augmented form of OCT [1,2]. While OCT provides structural information of tissues, PS-OCT provides additional information of tissue polarization properties simultaneously with structure by detecting depth resolved polarization state changes of reflected light. Biological tissues have various polarization properties such as birefringence, diattenuation, and depolarization. There are various birefringent tissues, e.g. muscle, tendon, cartilage, dermis of skin, coronary artery, anterior eye segment, retinal nerve fiber layer, and vocal fold. The potential of PSOCT has been demonstrated in pre-clinical and clinical studies of various organs such as the eye [4,5,6,7,8], skin [9,10,11,12], coronary artery [13], and vocal fold [14,15]
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