Histology correlated adaptive optics polarisation sensitive optical coherence tomography

Adaptive optics polarisation sensitive optical coherence tomography (AO-PS-OCT) provides high-resolution and tissue-specific contrast for the study of retinal pathology. We used our recently developed AO-PS-OCT system to acquire longitudinal in-vivo images of laser injury in the mouse retina over a ten-day period. Hyper-reflective foci (HRF) were observed in both reflectance and PS-OCT modalities. Spatial registration with immunohistochemistry showed co-localisation of HRF in our PS-OCT modality with IB4-positive myeloid cells and probable pigment in the confocal transmission channel, suggesting uptake of melanin-containing RPE debris as a source of PS contrast. These results demonstrate the potential of AO-PS-OCT for discrimination of HRF in-vivo.