Organoids play an increasingly important role as in vitro models for studying organ development, disease mechanisms, and drug discovery. Organoids are self-organizing, organ-like three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures developing organ-specific cell types and functions. Recently, three groups independently developed self-assembling human heart organoids (hHOs) from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). In this study, we utilized a customized spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) system to characterize the growth of hHOs. Development of chamber structures and beating patterns of the hHOs were observed via OCT and calcium imaging. We demonstrated the capability of OCT to produce 3D images in a fast, label-free, and non-destructive manner. The hHOs formed cavities of various sizes, and complex interconnections were observed as early as on day 4 of differentiation. The hHOs models and the OCT imaging system showed promising insights as an in vitro platform for investigating heart development and disease mechanisms.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.