In vivo deep tissue imaging using wavefront shaping optical coherence tomography

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates in vivo deep tissue imaging in mice using wavefront shaping with OCT, significantly improving penetration depth and image quality by enhancing light delivery into tissue.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of wavefront shaping with a DMD in spectral-domain OCT for in vivo deep tissue imaging, achieving substantial signal and depth enhancements.

Findings

Signal enhancement factors of 3-7 times observed.

Deep multilayered structures visualized in vivo.

Improved imaging depth in live tissue samples.

Abstract

Multiple light scattering in tissue limits the penetration of optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. Here, we present in-vivo OCT imaging of a live mouse using wavefront shaping to enhance the penetration depth. A digital micro-mirror device (DMD) was used in a spectral-domain OCT system for complex wavefront shaping of an incident beam which resulted in the optimal delivery of light energy into deep tissue. Ex-vivo imaging of chicken breasts and mouse ear tissues showed enhancements in the strength of the image signals and the penetration depth, and in-vivo imaging of the tail of a live mouse provided a multilayered structure inside the tissue, otherwise invisible in conventional OCT imaging. Signal enhancements by a factor of 3-7 were acquired for various experimental conditions and samples.