Jesung Park

Noninvasive in vivo imaging reveals differences between tectorial membrane and basilar membrane traveling waves in the mouse cochlea.

Significance The membranes within the cochlea vibrate in response to sound. However, measuring these vibrations to study the sense of hearing has been a technological challenge because invasive techniques have been required. Herein, we describe a new technique capable of depth-resolved displacement measurements in 3D space with picometer sensitivity within the unopened mouse cochlea. We used this technique to make, to our knowledge, the first measurements of the tectorial membrane, the structure that overlies the sensory hair cell stereociliary bundles, within a healthy cochlea. We found that the tectorial membrane sustains traveling wave propagation differently than the more commonly measured basilar membrane. This finding provides a clearer understanding of the mechanical stimulus at the level of the inner hair cell responsible for non-linear sound encoding. Sound is encoded within the auditory portion of the inner ear, the cochlea, after propagating down its length as a traveling wave. For over half a century, vibratory measurements to study cochlear traveling waves have been made using invasive approaches such as laser Doppler vibrometry. Although these studies have provided critical information regarding the nonlinear processes within the living cochlea that increase the amplitude of vibration and sharpen frequency tuning, the data have typically been limited to point measurements of basilar membrane vibration. In addition, opening the cochlea may alter its function and affect the findings. Here we describe volumetric optical coherence tomography vibrometry, a technique that overcomes these limitations by providing depth-resolved displacement measurements at 200 kHz inside a 3D volume of tissue with picometer sensitivity. We studied the mouse cochlea by imaging noninvasively through the surrounding bone to measure sound-induced vibrations of the sensory structures in vivo, and report, to our knowledge, the first measures of tectorial membrane vibration within the unopened cochlea. We found that the tectorial membrane sustains traveling wave propagation. Compared with basilar membrane traveling waves, tectorial membrane traveling waves have larger dynamic ranges, sharper frequency tuning, and apically shifted positions of peak vibration. These findings explain discrepancies between previously published basilar membrane vibration and auditory nerve single unit data. Because the tectorial membrane directly overlies the inner hair cell stereociliary bundles, these data provide the most accurate characterization of the stimulus shaping the afferent auditory response available to date.

A dual-modality optical coherence tomography and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy system for simultaneous morphological and biochemical tissue characterization

Most pathological conditions elicit changes in the tissue optical response that may be interrogated by one or more optical imaging modalities. Any single modality typically only furnishes an incomplete picture of the tissue optical response, hence an approach that integrates complementary optical imaging modalities is needed for a more comprehensive non-destructive and minimally-invasive tissue characterization. We have developed a dual-modality system, incorporating optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), that is capable of simultaneously characterizing the 3-D tissue morphology and its biochemical composition. The Fourier domain OCT subsystem, at an 830 nm center wavelength, provided high-resolution morphological volumetric tissue images with an axial and lateral resolution of 7.3 and 13.4 µm, respectively. The multispectral FLIM subsystem, based on a direct pulse-recording approach (upon 355 nm laser excitation), provided two-dimensional superficial maps of the tissue autofluorescence intensity and lifetime at three customizable emission bands with 100 µm lateral resolution. Both subsystems share the same excitation/illumination optical path and are simultaneously raster scanned on the sample to generate coregistered OCT volumes and FLIM images. The developed OCT/FLIM system was capable of a maximum A-line rate of 59 KHz for OCT and a pixel rate of up to 30 KHz for FLIM. The dual-modality system was validated with standard fluorophore solutions and subsequently applied to the characterization of two biological tissue types: postmortem human coronary atherosclerotic plaques, and in vivo normal and cancerous hamster cheek pouch epithelial tissue.

Simultaneous time- and wavelength-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy for near real-time tissue diagnosis

A novel fiber-optic-based method for simultaneous time- and wavelength-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy for the rapid diagnosis of diseased tissue is demonstrated. By combining multiple bandpass and dichroic filters (405/40, 460/50, and 550/50) with different lengths of optical fiber (1, 10, and 19 m) acting as an optical delay this system enables the near real-time acquisition and characterization of time-resolved fluorescence spectra using a single detector and excitation input. The recording of multiple fluorescence response pulses at selected wavelengths can be completed in hundreds of nanoseconds, which provides the capability of a real-time characterization of biological systems.

In vivo vibrometry inside the apex of the mouse cochlea using spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Sound transduction within the auditory portion of the inner ear, the cochlea, is a complex nonlinear process. The study of cochlear mechanics in large rodents has provided important insights into cochlear function. However, technological and experimental limitations have restricted studies in mice due to their smaller cochlea. These challenges are important to overcome because of the wide variety of transgenic mouse strains with hearing loss mutations that are available for study. To accomplish this goal, we used spectral domain optical coherence tomography to visualize and measure sound-induced vibrations of intracochlear tissues. We present, to our knowledge, the first vibration measurements from the apex of an unopened mouse cochlea.

High-speed multispectral fluorescence lifetime imaging implementation for in vivo applications

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) offers a noninvasive approach for characterizing the biochemical composition of biological tissue. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the application of multispectral FLIM for medical diagnosis. Central to the clinical translation of FLIM technology is the development of robust, fast, and cost-effective FLIM instrumentation suitable for in vivo tissue imaging. Unfortunately, the predominant multispectral FLIM approaches suffer from limitations that impede the development of high-speed instruments for in vivo applications. We present a cost-effective scanning multispectral FLIM implementation capable of achieving pixel rates on the order of tens of kilohertz, which will facilitate the evaluation of FLIM for in vivo applications.

Intraluminal fluorescence spectroscopy catheter with ultrasound guidance

We demonstrate the feasibility of a time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy (TRFS) technique for intraluminal investigation of arterial vessel composition under intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance. A prototype 1.8-mm (5.4 Fr) catheter combining a side-viewing optical fiber (SVOF) and an IVUS catheter was constructed and tested with in vitro vessel phantoms. The prototype catheter can locate a fluorophore in the phantom vessel wall, steer the SVOF in place, perform blood flushing under flow conditions, and acquire high-quality TRFS data using 337-nm wavelength excitation. The catheter steering capability used for the coregistration of the IVUS image plane and the SVOF beam produce a guiding precision to an arterial phantom wall site location of 0.53+/-0.16 mm. This new intravascular multimodal catheter enables the potential for in vivo arterial plaque composition identification using TRFS.

In Vivo Simultaneous Morphological and Biochemical Optical Imaging of Oral Epithelial Cancer

Early detection of cancer is key to reducing morbidity and mortality. Morphological and chemical biomarkers presage the transition from normal to cancerous tissue. We have developed a noninvasive imaging system incorporating optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) into a single optical system for the first time, in order to acquire both sets of biomarkers. OCT can provide morphological images of tissue with high resolution, while FLIM can provide biochemical tissue maps. Coregistered OCT volumes and FLIM images have been acquired simultaneously in an in vivo hamster cheek pouch model of oral cancer. The OCT images indicate morphological biomarkers for cancer including thickening of the epithelial layer and loss of the layered structure. The FLIM images indicate chemical biomarkers including increased nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and reduced collagen emission. While both sets of biomarkers can differentiate normal and cancerous tissue, we believe their combination will enable the discrimination of benign lesions possessing some of the indicated biomarkers, e.g., scarring or inflammation.

Time-Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy as a Diagnostic Technique of Oral Carcinoma: Validation in the Hamster Buccal Pouch Model

OBJECTIVE To investigate the benefit of using time-resolved, laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy for diagnosing malignant and premalignant lesions of the oral cavity. DESIGN The carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) was applied to 1 cheek pouch of 19 hamsters. The contralateral pouch and the cheek pouches of 3 hamsters without DMBA exposure served as controls. SETTING University of California, Davis. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-two golden/Syrian hamsters. INTERVENTION A nitrogen pulse laser was used to induce tissue autofluorescence between the wavelengths of 360 and 650 nm. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Spectral intensities and time-domain measurements were obtained and compared with the histopathologic findings at each corresponding site. RESULTS Spectral intensities and lifetime values at 3 spectral bands (SBs; SB1 = 380 +/- 10 nm; SB2 = 460 +/- 10 nm, and SB3 = 635 +/- 10 nm) allowed for discrimination among healthy epithelium, dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and invasive carcinoma. The lifetime values at SB2 were the most important when distinguishing the lesions using only time-resolved parameters. An algorithm combining spectral fluorescence parameters derived from both spectral and time-domain parameters (peak intensities, average fluorescence lifetimes, and the Laguerre coefficient [zero-order]) for healthy epithelium, dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and invasive carcinoma provided the best diagnostic discrimination, with 100%, 100%, 69.2%, and 76.5% sensitivity and 100%, 92.2%, 97.1%, and 96.2% specificity, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The addition of time-resolved fluorescence-derived parameters significantly improves the capability of fluorescence spectroscopy-based diagnostics in the hamster buccal pouch. This technique provides a potential noninvasive diagnostic instrument for head and neck cancer.

Development of a dual-modal tissue diagnostic system combining time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and ultrasonic backscatter microscopy

We report a tissue diagnostic system which combines two complementary techniques of time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TR-LIFS) and ultrasonic backscatter microscopy (UBM). TR-LIFS evaluates the biochemical composition of tissue, while UBM provides tissue microanatomy and enables localization of the region of diagnostic interest. The TR-LIFS component consists of an optical fiber-based time-domain apparatus including a spectrometer, gated multichannel plate photomultiplier, and fast digitizer. It records the fluorescence with high sensitivity (nM concentration range) and time resolution as low as 300 ps. The UBM system consists of a transducer, pulser, receiving circuit, and positioning stage. The transducer used here is 45 MHz, unfocused, with axial and lateral resolutions 38 and 200 microm. Validation of the hybrid system and ultrasonic and spectroscopic data coregistration were conducted both in vitro (tissue phantom) and ex vivo (atherosclerotic tissue specimens of human aorta). Standard histopathological analysis of tissue samples was used to validate the UBM-TRLIFS data. Current results have demonstrated that spatially correlated UBM and TR-LIFS data provide complementary characterization of both morphology (necrotic core and calcium deposits) and biochemistry (collagen, elastin, and lipid features) of the atherosclerotic plaques at the same location. Thus, a combination of fluorescence spectroscopy with ultrasound imaging would allow for better identification of features associated with tissue pathologies. Current design and performance of the hybrid system suggests potential applications in clinical diagnosis of atherosclerotic plaque.

Automated classification of optical coherence tomography images for the diagnosis of oral malignancy in the hamster cheek pouch.

Most studies evaluating the potential of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the diagnosis of oral cancer are based on visual assessment of OCT B-scans by trained experts. Human interpretation of the large pool of data acquired by modern high-speed OCT systems, however, can be cumbersome and extremely time consuming. Development of image analysis methods for automated and quantitative OCT image analysis could therefore facilitate the evaluation of such a large volume of data. We report automated algorithms for quantifying structural features that are associated with the malignant transformation of the oral epithelium based on image processing of OCT data. The features extracted from the OCT images were used to design a statistical classification model to perform the automated tissue diagnosis. The sensitivity and specificity of distinguishing malignant lesions from benign lesions were found to be 90.2% and 76.3%, respectively. The results of the study demonstrate the feasibility of using quantitative image analysis algorithms for extracting morphological features from OCT images to perform the automated diagnosis of oral malignancies in a hamster cheek pouch model.