Dual-modality imaging system for monitoring human heart organoids beating in vitro

Opt Lett. 2023 Aug 1;48(15):3929-3932. doi: 10.1364/OL.493824.

Abstract

To reveal the three-dimensional microstructure and calcium dynamics of human heart organoids (hHOs), we developed a dual-modality imaging system combining the advantages of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescence microscopy. OCT provides high-resolution volumetric structural information, while fluorescence imaging indicates the electrophysiology of the hHOs' beating behavior. We verified that concurrent OCT motion mode (M-mode) and calcium imaging retrieved the same beating pattern from the heart organoids. We further applied dynamic contrast OCT (DyC-OCT) analysis to strengthen the verification and localize the beating clusters inside the hHOs. This imaging platform provides a powerful tool for studying and assessing hHOs in vitro, with potential applications in disease modeling and drug screening.

MeSH terms

  • Calcium*
  • Heart* / diagnostic imaging
  • Humans
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Organoids / diagnostic imaging
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / methods

Substances

  • Calcium