Optical coherence tomography for embryonic imaging: a review

Abstract

Embryogenesis is a highly complex and dynamic process, and its visualization is crucial for understanding basic physiological processes during development and for identifying and assessing possible defects, malformations, and diseases. While traditional imaging modalities, such as ultrasound biomicroscopy, micro-magnetic resonance imaging, and micro-computed tomography, have long been adapted for embryonic imaging, these techniques generally have limitations in their speed, spatial resolution, and contrast to capture processes such as cardiodynamics during embryogenesis. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive imaging modality with micrometer-scale spatial resolution and imaging depth up to a few millimeters in tissue. OCT has bridged the gap between ultrahigh resolution imaging techniques with limited imaging depth like confocal microscopy and modalities, such as ultrasound sonography, which have deeper penetration but poorer spatial resolution. Moreover, the noninvasive nature of OCT has enabled live imaging of embryos without any external contrast agents. We review how OCT has been utilized to study developing embryos and also discuss advances in techniques used in conjunction with OCT to understand embryonic development.

Dynamic imaging and quantitative analysis of cranial neural tube closure in the mouse embryo using optical coherence tomography

“…This unique spatial imaging scale of OCT has enabled applications ranging from biomedical research [25][26][27] to clinical diagnosis and monitoring [28][29][30]. Embryology is a major research area where OCT shows great promise as a high-resolution unlabeled imaging tool [31][32][33]. With the primary focus on the cardiovascular development and abnormalities, OCT has been reported able to reveal detailed structures of the embryonic heart comparable to histology [34][35][36], to capture four-dimensional dynamic cardiac activities [37][38][39], to quantify biomechanics of the heart tube [40][41][42], to assess cardiac hemodynamics [43][44][45], to characterize novel mutant heart phenotypes [46][47][48], and to investigate cardiac responses to physical and chemical manipulations [49][50][51][52].…”

Optical coherence tomography as a noninvasive 3D real time imaging tool for the rapid evaluation of phenotypic variations in insect embryonic development

“…Embryonic development is a highly complex and dynamic process and its visualization is crucial for fully comprehending the complex phenotypic processes [1,2], which are essential for studying the development and gene regulation of insect embryos.…”

Optical coherence elastography – OCT at work in tissue biomechanics [Invited]

“…In 2006, Stephen Boppart's group first applied OCE to a tissue-engineered construct and to a developmental biology model -the xenopus laevis [23] (xenopus laevis has now largely been supplanted by the zebrafish and mice in developmental biology -a recent review of this field can be found in [24]). The basic method, compression, time-domain OCT and speckle tracking to determine cross-sectional displacement, had not changed since Schmitt's initial demonstration.…”