Swept-source optical coherence tomography powered by a 1.3-μm vertical cavity surface emitting laser enables 2.3-mm-deep brain imaging in mice in vivo

Abstract. We report noninvasive, in vivo optical imaging deep within a mouse brain by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), enabled by a 1.3-μm vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). VCSEL SS-OCT offers a constant signal sensitivity of 105 dB throughout an entire depth of 4.25 mm in air, ensuring an extended usable imaging depth range of more than 2 mm in turbid biological tissue. Using this approach, we show deep brain imaging in mice with an open-skull cranial window preparation, revealing intact mouse brain anatomy from the superficial cerebral cortex to the deep hippocampus. VCSEL SS-OCT would be applicable to small animal studies for the investigation of deep tissue compartments in living brains where diseases such as dementia and tumor can take their toll.

[1]  Lydia Ng,et al.  The Allen Brain Atlas , 2014 .

[2]  Ernest W Chang,et al.  Long-wavelength optical coherence tomography at 1.7 microm for enhanced imaging depth. , 2008, Optics express.

[3]  S. Gigan,et al.  Brain refractive index measured in vivo with high-NA defocus-corrected full-field OCT and consequences for two-photon microscopy. , 2011, Optics express.

[4]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  Label-free in vivo optical imaging of functional microcirculations within meninges and cortex in mice , 2010, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[5]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  Three dimensional optical angiography. , 2007, Optics express.

[6]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  4D optical coherence tomography-based micro-angiography achieved by 1.6-MHz FDML swept source. , 2015, Optics letters.

[7]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  Swept-source OCT angiography of the retinal vasculature using intensity differentiation-based optical microangiography algorithms. , 2014, Ophthalmic surgery, lasers & imaging retina.

[8]  Jannick P Rolland,et al.  Bessel beam spectral-domain high-resolution optical coherence tomography with micro-optic axicon providing extended focusing range. , 2008, Optics letters.

[9]  Stephen A. Boppart,et al.  Real-time in vivo computed optical interferometric tomography , 2013, Nature Photonics.

[10]  Anna Devor,et al.  Optical coherence tomography (OCT) reveals depth-resolved dynamics during functional brain activation , 2009, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[11]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  Mapping of cerebro-vascular blood perfusion in mice with skin and skull intact by Optical Micro-AngioGraphy at 1.3 mum wavelength. , 2007, Optics express.

[12]  V. Srinivasan,et al.  Optical coherence microscopy for deep tissue imaging of the cerebral cortex with intrinsic contrast , 2012, Optics express.

[13]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  In vivo imaging of functional microvasculature within tissue beds of oral and nasal cavities by swept-source optical coherence tomography with a forward/side-viewing probe , 2014, Biomedical optics express.

[14]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  High-precision, high-accuracy ultralong-range swept-source optical coherence tomography using vertical cavity surface emitting laser light source. , 2013, Optics letters.

[15]  Chen D. Lu,et al.  Retinal, anterior segment and full eye imaging using ultrahigh speed swept source OCT with vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers , 2012, Biomedical optics express.

[16]  Freddy T. Nguyen,et al.  Optical coherence tomography: a review of clinical development from bench to bedside. , 2007, Journal of biomedical optics.

[17]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  Swept-source OCT Angiography of the Retinal Vasculature using Intensity Differentiation Based OMAG Algorithms , 2015 .

[18]  G. M. Hale,et al.  Optical Constants of Water in the 200-nm to 200-microm Wavelength Region. , 1973, Applied optics.