L. A. Matveev

A correlation-stability approach to elasticity mapping in optical coherence tomography

A variant of compressional optical coherence elastography for mapping of the relative stiffness of biological tissues is reported. Unlike conventionally discussed displacement-based (DB) elastography, in which the decrease in the cross-correlation between subsequently obtained images is a negative factor causing errors in the mapping displacement and strain fields, we propose to intentionally use the difference in the correlation stability (CS) for deformed-tissue regions with different stiffnesses. We compare the parameter ranges (in terms of noise-to-signal ratio and strain) in which the conventional DB and CS approaches are operable. It is shown that the CS approach has advantages such as a significantly wider operability region in terms of strain and is more tolerant to noise. This is favorable for freehand implementation of the CS approach. Examples of simulated and real CS-based elastographic optical coherence tomography images are given.A variant of compression optical coherence elastography for mapping relative tissue stiffness is reported. Unlike conventionally discussed displacement-based (DB) elastorgaphy, in which the decrease in the cross-correlation is a negative factor causing errors in mapping displacement and strain fields, we propose to intentionally use the difference in the correlation stability (CS) for deformed tissue regions with different stiffness. We compare the parameter ranges (in terms of noise-to-signal ratio and strain) in which the conventional DBand CS-approaches are operable. It is shown that the CS approach has such advantages as significantly wider operability region in terms of strain and is more tolerant to noises. This is favorable for freehand implementation of this approach. Examples of simulated and real CS-based elastographic OCT images are given. c

Deformation-induced speckle-pattern evolution and feasibility of correlational speckle tracking in optical coherence elastography

Abstract. Feasibility of speckle tracking in optical coherence tomography (OCT) based on digital image correlation (DIC) is discussed in the context of elastography problems. Specifics of applying DIC methods to OCT, compared to processing of photographic images in mechanical engineering applications, are emphasized and main complications are pointed out. Analytical arguments are augmented by accurate numerical simulations of OCT speckle patterns. In contrast to DIC processing for displacement and strain estimation in photographic images, the accuracy of correlational speckle tracking in deformed OCT images is strongly affected by the coherent nature of speckles, for which strain-induced complications of speckle “blinking” and “boiling” are typical. The tracking accuracy is further compromised by the usually more pronounced pixelated structure of OCT scans compared with digital photographic images in classical DIC applications. Processing of complex-valued OCT data (comprising both amplitude and phase) compared to intensity-only scans mitigates these deleterious effects to some degree. Criteria of the attainable speckle tracking accuracy and its dependence on the key OCT system parameters are established.

Optimized phase gradient measurements and phase-amplitude interplay in optical coherence elastography

Abstract. In compressional optical coherence elastography, phase-variation gradients are used for estimating quasistatic strains created in tissue. Using reference and deformed optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans, one typically compares phases from pixels with the same coordinates in both scans. Usually, this limits the allowable strains to fairly small values <10−4 to 10−3, with the caveat that such weak phase gradients may become corrupted by stronger measurement noises. Here, we extend the OCT phase-resolved elastographic methodology by (1) showing that an order of magnitude greater strains can significantly increase the accuracy of derived phase-gradient differences, while also avoiding error-phone phase-unwrapping procedures and minimizing the influence of decorrelation noise caused by suprapixel displacements, (2) discussing the appearance of artifactual stiff inclusions in resultant OCT elastograms in the vicinity of bright scatterers due to the amplitude-phase interplay in phase-variation measurements, and (3) deriving/evaluating methods of phase-gradient estimation that can outperform conventionally used least-square gradient fitting. We present analytical arguments, numerical simulations, and experimental examples to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed optimized phase-variation methodology.

Optical coherence elastography for strain dynamics measurements in laser correction of cornea shape

We describe the use of elastographic processing in phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography (OCT) for visualizing dynamics of strain and tissue-shape changes during laser-induced photothermal corneal reshaping, for applications in the emerging field of non-destructive and non-ablative (non-LASIK) laser vision correction. The proposed phase-processing approach based on fairly sparse data acquisition enabled rapid data processing and near-real-time visualization of dynamic strains. The approach avoids conventional phase unwrapping, yet allows for mapping strains even for significantly supra-wavelength inter-frame displacements of scatterers accompanied by multiple phase-wrapping. These developments bode well for real-time feedback systems for controlling the dynamics of corneal deformation with 10-100 ms temporal resolution, and for suitably long-term monitoring of resultant reshaping of the cornea. In ex-vivo experiments with excised rabbit eyes, we demonstrate temporal plastification of cornea that allows shape changes relevant for vision-correction applications without affecting its transparency. We demonstrate OCTs ability to detect achieving of threshold temperatures required for tissue plastification and simultaneously characterize transient and cumulative strain distributions, surface displacements, and scattering tissue properties. Comparison with previously used methods for studying laser-induced reshaping of cartilaginous tissues and numerical simulations is performed.

Relation between the tidal modulation of seismic noise and the amplitude-dependent loss in rock

Geological materials and many other microinhomogeneous media exhibit pronounced nonlinear properties under very small strains, when one may expect an almost linear behavior of the material. These properties are conventionally described on the basis of elastically nonlinear or hysteretic models. The present paper discusses the amplitude-dependent dissipation that is unrelated to hysteretic nonlinearity but is also a universal property of microinhomogeneous media. This property allows the explanation of the effect of correlation between the tidal strains of the Earth’s crust (on the order of 10−8) and the unexpectedly strong (on the order of 10−2–10−1) variations of seismic noise intensity, which has been observed for more than 25 years without being given any adequate interpretation.

Cascade cross modulation due to the nonlinear interaction of elastic waves in samples with cracks

The phenomenon under study consists in that, in an inhomogeneous material with nonlinearity caused by the presence of soft defects (the so-called “nonclassical” nonlinearity), cascade nonlinear effects are fairly strong and may even become comparable to the first-order effects. Similar cascade effects in media with a common nonlinearity of the crystal lattice are much weaker. This difference can be used as an important diagnostic indicator in nondestructive testing. Experimental data obtained for samples with cracks, which exhibit both ordinary modulation and cross-modulation effects, as well as a cascade cross modulation, are presented. The origin of the enhanced level of cascade effects is explained by modeling with the use of a simple model of nonlinearity of an inhomogeneous material containing soft Hertzian contacts.

Photodynamic therapy monitoring with optical coherence angiography

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising modern approach for cancer therapy with low normal tissue toxicity. This study was focused on a vascular-targeting Chlorine E6 mediated PDT. A new angiographic imaging approach known as M-mode-like optical coherence angiography (MML-OCA) was able to sensitively detect PDT-induced microvascular alterations in the mouse ear tumour model CT26. Histological analysis showed that the main mechanisms of vascular PDT was thrombosis of blood vessels and hemorrhage, which agrees with angiographic imaging by MML-OCA. Relationship between MML-OCA-detected early microvascular damage post PDT (within 24 hours) and tumour regression/regrowth was confirmed by histology. The advantages of MML-OCA such as direct image acquisition, fast processing, robust and affordable system opto-electronics, and label-free high contrast 3D visualization of the microvasculature suggest attractive possibilities of this method in practical clinical monitoring of cancer therapies with microvascular involvement.

Giant strain-sensitivity of acoustic energy dissipation in solids containing dry and saturated cracks with wavy interfaces.

Mechanisms of acoustic energy dissipation in heterogeneous solids attract much attention in view of their importance for material characterization, nondestructive testing, and geophysics. Due to the progress in measurement techniques in recent years, it has been revealed that rocks can demonstrate extremely high strain sensitivity of seismoacoustic loss. In particular, it has been found that strains of order 10(-8) produced by lunar and solar tides are capable of causing variations in the seismoacoustic decrement on the order of several percent. Some laboratory data (although obtained for higher frequencies) also indicate the presence of very high dissipative nonlinearity. Conventionally discussed dissipation mechanisms (thermoelastic loss in dry solids, Biot and squirt-type loss in fluid-saturated ones) do not suffice to interpret such data. Here the dissipation at individual cracks is revised taking into account the influence of wavy asperities of their surfaces quite typical of real cracks, which can drastically change the values of the relaxation frequencies and can result in giant strain sensitivity of the dissipation without the necessity of assuming the presence of unrealistically thin (and, therefore, unrealistically soft) cracks. In particular, these mechanisms suggest interpretation for observations of pronounced amplitude modulation of seismo-acoustic waves by tidal strains.

In-vivo longitudinal imaging of microvascular changes in irradiated oral mucosa of radiotherapy cancer patients using optical coherence tomography

Mucositis is the limiting toxicity of radio(chemo)therapy of head and neck cancer. Diagnostics, prophylaxis and correction of this condition demand new accurate and objective approaches. Here we report on an in vivo longitudinal monitoring of the oral mucosa dynamics in 25 patients during the course of radiotherapy of oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal cancer using multifunctional optical coherence tomography (OCT). A spectral domain OCT system with a specially-designed oral imaging probe was used. Microvasculature visualization was based on temporal speckle variations of the full complex signal evaluated by high-pass filtering of 3D data along the slow scan axis. Angiographic image quantification demonstrated an increase of the vascular density and total length of capillary-like-vessels before visual signs or clinical symptoms of mucositis occur. Especially significant microvascular changes compared to their initial levels occurred when grade two and three mucositis developed. Further, microvascular reaction was seen to be dose-level dependent. OCT monitoring in radiotherapy offers a non-invasive, convenient, label-free quantifiable structural and functional volumetric imaging method suitable for longitudinal human patient studies, furnishing fundamental radiobiological insights and potentially providing useful feedback data to enable adaptive radiotherapy (ART).

Modulation of high-frequency seismic noise by tidal deformations: The features of the phenomenon before strong earthquakes and a probable physical mechanism

A probable physical mechanism of tidal modulation of intensity of the endogenous seismic noise is proposed. The mechanism associates this phenomenon with modulation of the size of the region over which the recorded noise is acquired due to nonhysteresis amplitude-dependent absorption in the Earth’s rocks. The two most important cases, namely dry and fluid-saturated rocks, are considered. In both cases, internal elongated strip-like contacts (even in minor quantities) are found to be of fundamental importance. The proposed mechanism provides an explanation for a variety of features of high-frequency seismic noise modulated by tides, which were revealed in the long-term observations on the Kamchatka Peninsula: (i) the modulation depth on the order of the first few percent; (ii) stabilization of the modulation phase before a strong earthquake; (iii) a frequently observed near jump-like change in the phase to the opposite-sign phase after the earthquake; (iv) the subsequent period of a relatively unstable phase; and (v) temporary predominance of the modulation component on the second harmonic of the fundamental tidal frequency in the vicinity of the time when the earthquake occurred.