We introduce the concept of a virtual biopsy, by using generative neural networks to synthesize virtual H&E sections from OCT images. To do this, we have developed a novel technique, “optical barcoding”, which has allowed us to construct a large dataset of OCT-H&E image pairs of human skin collected during Mohs surgery. Our results demonstrate the ability to use OCT images to generate high-fidelity virtual H&E sections and entire 3D H&E volumes. We hope that our novel method will allow clinicians to circumvent the time- and resource-consuming step of an invasive biopsy procedure.
We introduce a novel technique, “optical barcoding”, which enables us to repeatedly extract the 2D OCT slice from a 3D OCT volume that corresponds to a given H and E tissue section, with high alignment precision of 25 microns. Our method is based on marking a specific geometric pattern that is preserved through the standard histological process and encodes all orientation, position and scaling information about how the section was cut. We demonstrate the robustness of our novel technique by collecting hundreds of high-quality OCT-H and E image pairs from more than 30 different human skin samples that were collected during Mohs surgery.
Developing suitable contrast agents is essential for multiplexed optical coherence tomography (OCT), which allows simultaneous imaging of different biomarkers, cells and flows in living subjects. However, few OCT contrast agents have shown multiplexing capability, especially in the second near infrared (NIR-II) window. Here we demonstrate that using gold nanobipyramds as OCT contrast agents, two separate lymph flows can be visualized simultaneously in a live mouse in the NIR-II window. We concurrently traced lymph flows draining from a melanoma tumor and peritumoral tissue upstream of the melanoma, showing these flows exhibit distinct drainage patterns and merge into the same lymph node.
KEYWORDS: Optical coherence tomography, Lymphatic system, Scattering, Gold, Nanoparticles, Capillaries, In vivo imaging, Multiplexing, Particles, RGB color model
The ability to detect multiple contrast agents simultaneously would greatly enhance Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) images, providing nuanced biological context to physiological structures. However, previous OCT contrast agent work has been limited to scenarios where only a single contrast agent could be robustly detected within each voxel. We present a novel spectroscopic technique for de-mixing the spectral signal from multiple OCT contrast agents within a single voxel. We validate our technique in vitro and also demonstrate in vivo imaging of three spectrally distinct gold nanobipyramids, trafficking within the lymphatic system of a live mouse. This approach opens the door to a much broader range of pre-clinical and clinical OCT applications where multiplexed labeling is desirable.
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