High-resolution morphological features of the muscle and cartilage in vivo using optical coherence tomography based on super luminescent diode

We have demonstrated a polarization sensitive cartilage and muscle imaging based on common path optical coherence tomography (CP-OCT) using near infrared source. The axial and lateral resolutions of our PS-OCT system are 9μm and 6μm, respectively. The internal structural information has been extracted by the real-time signal analysis (Fourier Transform) from the modulated spectral intensity depending on the beam and tissue birefringence. Preliminary results using fresh beef and in vivo rat show that we can visualize the birefringence effect of the tissue collagen fibers in the samples for better image contrast and sensitivity for detection of hidden dermal structures. Compared to conventional CP-OCT, our proposed PS-OCT could provide depth-resolved images, which reflect tissue birefringence.