Decalcification using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid for clear microstructure imaging of cochlea through optical coherence tomography

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of decalcification using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as an optical clearing method to enhance the depth visibility of internal soft tissues of cochlea. Ex vivo mouse and guinea pig cochlea samples were soaked in EDTA solutions for decalcification, and swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used as imaging modality to monitor the decalcified samples consecutively. The monitored noninvasive cross-sectional images showed that the mouse and guinea pig cochlea samples had to be decalcified for subsequent 7 and 14 days, respectively, to obtain the optimal optical clearing results. Using this method, difficulties in imaging of internal cochlea microstructures of mice could be evaded. The obtained results verified that the depth visibility of the decalcified ex vivo samples was enhanced.

Bio-Photonic Detection and Quantitative Evaluation Method for the Progression of Dental Caries Using Optical Frequency-Domain Imaging Method

“…Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a rapidly advancing optical frequency-domain imaging modality, which can provide non-invasive high-resolution cross-sectional images of dental tissues and various biological tissues [4]. This near-infrared (NIR) biomedical imaging method provides images with high axial and lateral resolutions (i.e., below 8 μm and 15 μm, respectively) [5,6], and, furthermore, OCT has been widely used in different medical applications such as ophthalmology [7,8], dermatology [9], and otolaryngology [10,11]. The methods currently in use for the detection of dental caries such as radiography, microradiography, and X-rays do not provide sufficient resolution, sensitivity, and contrast compared to OCT. Radiography is the most frequently applied inspection method in dentistry with a resolution of 50 μm, which is comparatively lower than the resolution of OCT.…”

Feasibility study: protein denaturation and coagulation monitoring with speckle variance optical coherence tomography

“…12 Thanks to its high spatial resolution, high-speed imaging, and highly flexible setup, it has become a main tool for diverse medical diagnosis fields such as ophthalmology, dermatology, oncology, and gastroenterology. [13][14][15][16][17] Moreover, these advantages also have an important role in being adaptable for nondestructive inspections for various thin-layered products, monitoring material conditions, and basic science research. [18][19][20][21] OCT techniques have been especially used to monitor the changes to biological tissues under external stress.…”

Multiple Wavelength Optical Coherence Tomography Assessments for Enhanced Ex Vivo Intra-Cochlear Microstructural Visualization

“…Although ten ex vivo cochlea specimens were examined using the multiple wavelength OCT systems, Figure 3a-c illustrates the representative images acquired from 860 nm, 1060 nm, and 1300 nm OCT systems. The region of interest (R.O.I) was determined by using previously published article [44] as a base reference for identifying the important intra-cochlear microstructures. An external mark was placed on the R.O.I of the cochlea specimen to indicate the position of OCT scanning.…”