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Phase-sensitive dynamic micro-optical coherence tomography for high-speed intracellular motion imaging

Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt, Joseph A Gardecki, Tiffany Miller

    Optics Letters
    |August 2, 2025
    PubMed

    Insights

    Dynamic optical coherence tomography with micrometer resolution (DµOCT) now images intracellular motion faster. A new phase-based algorithm reduces DµOCT imaging time to 40.5 ms for living tissues.

    Area of Science:

    • Biomedical optics
    • Cellular imaging
    • Biophotonics

    Background:

    • Dynamic optical coherence tomography with micrometer resolution (DµOCT) provides enhanced contrast in living tissues by analyzing signal fluctuations.
    • Current DµOCT applications are limited by long observation times (1.35–25 seconds), restricting its use to excised tissues or cell cultures.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To develop a faster DµOCT imaging method.
    • To enable real-time analysis of intracellular motion in living tissues.

    Main Methods:

    • Developed a novel phase-based algorithm to measure phase changes between adjacent B-scans.
    • Analyzed intracellular motion by quantifying these phase changes.
    • Reduced DµOCT imaging acquisition time significantly.

    Main Results:

    • Achieved DµOCT imaging times as low as 40.5 milliseconds.
    • Successfully provided a quantitative measure of intracellular motion.
    • Overcame the limitation of long observation times in DµOCT.

    Conclusions:

    • The new phase-based algorithm enables rapid DµOCT imaging.
    • This advancement allows for dynamic, quantitative analysis of intracellular motion in living biological samples.
    • Expands the potential applications of DµOCT in biomedical research and diagnostics.

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