Imaging of cortical structures and microvasculature using extended-focus optical coherence tomography at 1.3 μm

Opt Lett. 2018 Apr 15;43(8):1782-1785. doi: 10.1364/OL.43.001782.

Abstract

Extended-focus optical coherence tomography (xf-OCT) is a variant of optical coherence tomography (OCT) wherein the illumination and/or detection modes are engineered to provide a constant diffractionless lateral resolution over an extended depth of field (typically 3 to 10× the Rayleigh range). xf-OCT systems operating at 800 nm have been devised and used in the past to image brain structures at high-resolution in vivo, but are limited to ∼500 μm in penetration depth due to their short illumination wavelength. Here we present an xf-OCT system optimized to an image deeper within the cortex by using a longer illumination central wavelength of 1310 nm. The system offers a lateral resolution of 3 and 6.5 μm, over a depth of 900 μm and >1.5 mm using a 10× and 5× objective, respectively, in air. We characterize the system's resolution using microbeads embedded in PDMS and demonstrate its capabilities by imaging the cortical structure and microvasculature in anesthetized mice to a depth of ∼0.8 mm. Finally, we illustrate the difference in penetration depths obtainable with the new system and an xf-OCT system operating at 800 nm.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cerebral Cortex / blood supply*
  • Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging*
  • Cerebrovascular Circulation
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Microvessels / diagnostic imaging*
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / methods*