Assessment of pathological features in Alzheimer’s disease brain tissue with a large field-of-view visible-light optical coherence microscope

Antonia Lichtenegger; Martina Muck; Pablo Eugui; Danielle J. Harper; Marco Augustin; Konrad Leskovar; Christoph K. Hitzenberger; Adelheid Woehrer; Bernhard Baumann

doi:10.1117/1.NPh.5.3.035002

24 July 2018 Assessment of pathological features in Alzheimer’s disease brain tissue with a large field-of-view visible-light optical coherence microscope

Antonia Lichtenegger, Martina Muck, Pablo Eugui, Danielle J. Harper, Marco Augustin, Konrad Leskovar, Christoph K. Hitzenberger, Adelheid Woehrer, Bernhard Baumann

Author Affiliations +

Neurophotonics, Vol. 5, Issue 3, 035002 (July 2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.5.3.035002

Abstract

We implemented a wide field-of-view visible-light optical coherence microscope (OCM) for investigating ex-vivo brain tissue of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and of a mouse model of AD. A submicrometer axial resolution in tissue was achieved using a broad visible light spectrum. The use of various objective lenses enabled reaching micrometer transversal resolution and the acquisition of images of microscopic brain features, such as cell structures, vessels, and white matter tracts. Amyloid-beta plaques in the range of 10 to 70 μm were visualized. Large field-of-view images of young and old mouse brain sections were imaged using an automated x − y − z stage. The plaque load was characterized, revealing an age-related increase. Human brain tissue affected by cerebral amyloid angiopathy was investigated and hyperscattering structures resembling amyloid beta accumulations in the vessel walls were identified. All results were in good agreement with histology. A comparison of plaque features in both human and mouse brain tissue was performed, revealing an increase in plaque load and a decrease in reflectivity for mouse as compared with human brain tissue. Based on the promising outcome of our experiments, visible light OCM might be a powerful tool for investigating microscopic features in ex-vivo brain tissue.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Citation Download Citation

Antonia Lichtenegger, Martina Muck, Pablo Eugui, Danielle J. Harper, Marco Augustin, Konrad Leskovar, Christoph K. Hitzenberger, Adelheid Woehrer, and Bernhard Baumann "Assessment of pathological features in Alzheimer’s disease brain tissue with a large field-of-view visible-light optical coherence microscope," Neurophotonics 5(3), 035002 (24 July 2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.5.3.035002

Received: 29 March 2018; Accepted: 9 July 2018; Published: 24 July 2018

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

JOURNAL ARTICLE
11 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY