Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography applied to intervertebral disk

Stephen John Matcher; Peter Winlove; Sergei V. Gangnus

doi:10.1117/12.477636

8 July 2003 Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography applied to intervertebral disk

Stephen John Matcher, Peter Winlove, Sergei V. Gangnus

Proceedings Volume 4956, Coherence Domain Optical Methods and Optical Coherence Tomography in Biomedicine VII; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.477636
Event: Biomedical Optics, 2003, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PSOCT) is a powerful new optical imaging modality that is sensitive to the birefringence properties of tissues. It thus has potential applications in studying the large-scale ordering of collagen fibers within connective tisues and changes related to pathology. As a tissue for study by PSOCT, intervertebral disk respresents an interesting system as the collagen organization is believed to show pronounced variations with depth, on a spatial scale of about 100 μm. We have used a polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography system to measure the birefringence properties of bovine caudal intervertebral disk and compared this with equine flexor tendon. The result for equine tendon, δ = (3.0 ± 0.5)x10^-3 at 1.3 μm, is in broad agreement with values reported for bovine tendon, while bovine intervertebral disk displays a birefringence of about half this, δ = 1.2 x 10^-3 at 1.3 μm. While tendon appears to show a uniform fast-axis over 0.8 mm depth, intervertebral disk shows image contrast at all orientations relative to a linearly polarized input beam, suggesting a variation in fast-axis orientation with depth. These initial results suggest that PSOCT could be a useful tool to study collagen organization within this tissue and its variation with applied load and disease.

Citation Download Citation

Stephen John Matcher, Peter Winlove, and Sergei V. Gangnus "Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography applied to intervertebral disk", Proc. SPIE 4956, Coherence Domain Optical Methods and Optical Coherence Tomography in Biomedicine VII, (8 July 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.477636

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