Microvascular imaging and monitoring of human oral cavity lesions in vivo by swept-source OCT-based angiography

Abstract

We report the development of optical coherence tomography- (OCT) based angiography (OCTA) to image blood flow within microcirculatory tissue beds in human oral cavity in vivo with a field of view at 10 mm × 10 mm. Three-dimensional (3D) structural and vascular images of labial mucosa tissue are obtained at a single 3D acquisition. Pathologic mucosal sites with mouth ulcers are examined using the OCT tomograms and angiograms, upon which to monitor the lesion healing process over a period of 2 weeks. Quantitative metrics of the capillary loop density within the lamina propria layer are evaluated, providing statistically significant difference between healthy and diseased conditions over time. Furthermore, tissue anatomy and vessel morphology of other susceptible sites to ulcer, such as tongue, alveolar mucosa, and labial frenulum, are also imaged to demonstrate the promise of the proposed method as a clinically useful tool for the diagnosis and monitoring of therapeutic treatment of oral tissue abnormalities.

Handheld optical coherence tomography for clinical assessment of dental plaque and gingiva

“…23,24,36,39 For example, Fernandes et al 23 used a commercial OCT system to measure the gingival sulcus in vivo and compared image data with the traditional methods for healthy individuals. More recently, Le et al 24,40 utilized swept-source OCT and OCT angiography to assess human gingiva and showed different vascular arrangements and features in gingival inflammation. Although these studies show the potential of OCT for detecting microstructures in gingiva, most studies were performed in laboratory settings with bulky imaging systems and mounted optics or probes, limiting the accessibility to posterior teeth and the lingual sides of teeth.…”

In Vivo Endoscopic Optical Coherence Tomography of the Healthy Human Oral Mucosa: Qualitative and Quantitative Image Analysis

“…For this purpose, corresponding histopathological images are used to confirm the findings in the OCT cross sections reaching a solid base for software training in regards to the detection of malign lesions. However, in order to improve the current state of knowledge concerning healthy oral soft tissue, the aim of the presented study is the detection and analysis of in vivo OCT data sets representing characteristic and cancer-relevant parts of normal mucosa alongside the whole oral cavity, which forms the fundamental basis for further developments in functional and endoscopic OCT [ 26 , 27 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ] as well as subsequent clinical research.…”

Photoacoustic Imaging in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

“…Limited soft tissue contrast Tradeoff between spatial resolution and imaging depth MFM 1-1.6 0.5-1.0 Cell morphology and physiology [247][248][249][250] Cell distribution in scaffold 248 Biomaterial characterization [251][252][253] Cell tracking 254 Microvasculature morphology and oxygenation 250,255 Superior 256,257 Tissue development 258,259 Vascular imaging and perfusion [260][261][262][263] Biomaterial characterization [264][265][266] Blood flow 267,268 Real time imaging High spatial and temporal resolution Does not require exogenous contrast agent Flow velocity independent of vessel orientation…”