Potential of High resolution Gabor‐Domain optical coherence microscopy for early diagnosis of corneal disease

Abstract

PurposeWe investigate the capability of a high volumetric‐resolution imaging modality, Gabor‐Domain Optical Coherence Microscopy (GD‐OCM), to identify key features in the structural modification of the cornea in three frequent diseases.MethodsHost corneal buttons were excised during penetrating keratoplasty from patients with Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), type IIIA lattice corneal dystrophy (LCD) and keratoconus. We sutured them onto cadaver corneal rims to preserve their shape, mounted onto a corneal artificial chamber and pressurized under a pressure of 20 mmHg. We imaged them using GD‐OCM in a non‐contact mode, combining optical coherence tomography's high sectioning capability with confocal microscopy's high lateral resolution. The system achieved high‐contrast imaging with a field of view of 1 × 1 mm2 and volumetric cellular resolution of 2 μm across a tissue up to 2 mm thick.ResultsGD‐OCM produced high resolution and high‐contrast 3D images of the cornea's different layers. For FECD: the Descemet's membrane and stroma thickened and the density and size of keratocytes increased, along with associated guttae. Change in keratocytes seems to start in the posterior stroma in the early disease process and later heads toward the anterior stroma. For LCD: lattice linear deposits were identified in the anterior stroma, and for keratoconus, folds were identified in the posterior stroma, presumably Vogt's striae. For both, keratocytes and endothelial cells morphology was preserved.ConclusionsThe GD‐OCM revealed key pathologic features of several important corneal diseases and can be applied toward studying corneal diseases.