Dynamic microscopic optical coherence tomography to visualize morphological and functional micro-anatomy of the airways

TL;DR

This paper introduces dynamic microscopic OCT (mOCT), a technique that captures cellular-level airway tissue morphology and function in vivo by analyzing temporal tissue fluctuations, enabling detailed study of physiological and pathological processes.

Contribution

The study demonstrates that dynamic OCT enhances contrast by analyzing tissue fluctuations, allowing visualization of cellular structures and dynamic processes in airway tissue in vivo.

Findings

Visualizes airway micro-anatomy at cellular resolution

Tracks immune cell behavior and mucus transport dynamically

Provides in vivo insights into airway physiology and pathology

Abstract

Imaging airway tissue, optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides cross-sectional images of tissue structures, shows cilia movement and mucus secretion, but does not provide sufficient contrast to differentiate individual cells. By using fast sequences of microscopic resolution OCT (mOCT) images, OCT can picture small signal fluctuations (dynamic) OCT and overcomes the lack in contrast caused by speckle noise. In this way, OCT visualizes airway morphology on a cellular level and allows to track the dynamic behavior of immune cells, as well as mucus transport and secretion. Here, we demonstrate that mOCT, by using temporal tissue fluctuation as contrast (dynamic OCT), provides the possibility to study physiological and pathological tissue processes in vivo.