What is it about?
We developed a nanosensitive optical coherence tomography (nsOCT) approach to provide imaging of tumor based on dominant axial structure with a few nanometre detection accuracy. nsOCT maps the distribution of axial structural sizes an order of magnitude smaller than the axial resolution of the system. We validated nsOCT methodology by detecting synthetic axial structure via numerical simulations. Subsequently, we validated the nsOCT technique experimentally by detecting known structures from a commercially fabricated sample. nsOCT reveals scaling with different depth of dominant submicron structural changes associated with carcinoma which may inform the origins of the disease, its progression and improve diagnosis.
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Why is it important?
Approximately 90% of cancers have their origins in epithelial tissues and this leads to epithelial thickening, but the ultrastructural changes and underlying architecture is less well known. Depth resolved label free visualization of nanoscale tissue morphology is required to reveal the extent and distribution of ultrastructural changes in underlying tissue, but is difficult to achieve with existing imaging modalities. Our nsOCT approach can do such imaging.
Perspectives
The nsOCT approach represents as a fundamentally new and novel approach with much potential for many application in different areas, including medicine, biology, industry, but its actual benefits for in-vivo detection of precancers remain to be rigorously evaluated.
Dr Sergey Alexandrov
National University of Ireland - Galway
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Nanoscale structure detection and monitoring of tumour growth with optical coherence tomography, Nanoscale Advances, January 2020, Royal Society of Chemistry,
DOI: 10.1039/d0na00371a.
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