Quantification method to objectively evaluate the fibrous structural status of tendons based on polarization-sensitive OCT

Yong-Jae Lee; Eunwoo Park; Kwan Seob Park; Jun-Hyuk Lim; Sungmin Kim; Myung-Sun Kim; Tae Joong Eom

doi:10.1002/jbio.202200065

Quantification method to objectively evaluate the fibrous structural status of tendons based on polarization-sensitive OCT

J Biophotonics. 2022 Nov;15(11):e202200065. doi: 10.1002/jbio.202200065. Epub 2022 Aug 2.

Authors

Yong-Jae Lee^{1

2}, Eunwoo Park³, Kwan Seob Park⁴, Jun-Hyuk Lim⁵, Sungmin Kim⁵, Myung-Sun Kim⁵, Tae Joong Eom^{2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Advanced Photonics Research Institute, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, South Korea.
² Engineering Research Center for Color-modulated Extra-sensory Perception Technology, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea.
³ Department of Convergence IT Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, South Korea.
⁴ Physical Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standard and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.
⁵ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chonnam National University Hospital, Chonnam National University College of Medicine, Gwangju, South Korea.
⁶ Department of Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea.

PMID: 35766447
DOI: 10.1002/jbio.202200065

Abstract

Histological analysis is widely used to evaluate injured tendons; however, it has the limitation of being semi-quantitative. Hence, we developed a quantification method to objectively evaluate the fibrous structure of tendons, exhibiting the optical property of birefringence, using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT). We used a partial-rupture rat model in which the middle 0.75 cm of the Achilles tendon was cut with a blade. Rats were sacrificed at 2, 4 or 6 weeks after the injury, and PS-OCT and histological analyzes were performed. The PS-OCT phase retardation images and score well represented the structural changes of the injured tendon according to the wound healing state. Therefore, the proposed novel quantification method using PS-OCT can be used to evaluate the fibrous structural status of tendons.

Keywords: Achilles tendon; birefringence; collagen; optical coherence tomography.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Achilles Tendon* / diagnostic imaging
Animals
Birefringence
Rats
Tomography, Optical Coherence* / methods
Wound Healing

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding