Shuliang Jiao

Two-dimensional depth-resolved Mueller matrix of biological tissue measured with double-beam polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography.

A double-beam polarization-sensitive system based on optical coherence tomography was built to measure the Mueller matrix of scattering biological tissue with high spatial resolution. The Jones matrix of a sample can be determined with a single scan and subsequently converted into an equivalent nondepolarizing Mueller matrix. As a result, the system can be used to measure the Mueller matrix of an unstable sample, such as soft tissue. The polarization parameters of a porcine tendon, including magnitude and orientation of birefringence and diattenuation, were extracted by decomposition of the measured Mueller matrix.

Depth-resolved two-dimensional Stokes vectors of backscattered light and Mueller matrices of biological tissue measured with optical coherence tomography

Mueller matrices provide a complete characterization of the optical polarization properties of biological tissue. A polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (OCT) system was built and used to investigate the optical polarization properties of biological tissues and other turbid media. The apparent degree of polarization (DOP) of the backscattered light was measured with both liquid and solid scattering samples. The DOP maintains the value of unity within the detectable depth for the solid sample, whereas the DOP decreases with the optical depth for the liquid sample. Two-dimensional depth-resolved images of both the Stokes vectors of the backscattered light and the full Mueller matrices of biological tissue were measured with this system. These polarization measurements revealed some tissue structures that are not perceptible with standard OCT.

Jones-matrix imaging of biological tissues with quadruple-channel optical coherence tomography

Two-dimensional depth-resolved Jones-matrix images of scattering biological tissues were measured with novel double-source double-detector polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (OCT). The Jones matrix can be determined in a single scan with this OCT system. The experimental results show that this system can be effectively applied to the measurement of soft tissues, which are less stable than hard tissues. Polarization parameters such as diattenuation, birefringence, and orientation of the fast axis can be extracted through decomposition of the measured Jones matrix. The Jones matrix of thermally treated porcine tendon showed a reduction of birefringence from thermal damage. The Jones matrices of porcine skin and bovine cartilage also revealed that the density and orientation of the collagen fibers in porcine skin and bovine cartilage are not distributed as uniformly as in porcine tendon. Birefringence is sensitive to changes in tissue because it is based on phase contrast.

Simultaneous acquisition of sectional and fundus ophthalmic images with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

A high-speed spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) system was built to image the human retina in vivo. A fundus image similar to the intensity image produced by a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) was generated from the same spectra that were used for generating the OCT sectional images immediately after the spectra were collected. This function offers perfect spatial registration between the sectional OCT images and the fundus image, which is desired in ophthalmology for monitoring data quality, locating pathology, and increasing reproducibility. This function also offers a practical way to detect eye movements that occur during the acquisition of the OCT image. The system was successfully applied to imaging human retina in vivo.

Photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy for in vivo retinal imaging

We have developed a non-invasive photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy (PAOM) for in vivo retinal imaging. PAOM detects the photoacoustic signal induced by pulsed laser light shined onto the retina. By using a stationary ultrasonic transducer in contact with the eyelids and scanning only the laser light across the retina, PAOM provides volumetric imaging of the retinal micro-vasculature and retinal pigment epithelium at a high speed. For B-scan frames containing 256 A-lines, the current PAOM has a frame rate of 93 Hz, which is comparable with state-of-the-art commercial spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). By integrating PAOM with SD-OCT, we further achieved OCT-guided PAOM, which can provide multi-modal retinal imaging simultaneously. The capabilities of this novel technology were demonstrated by imaging both the microanatomy and microvasculature of the rat retina in vivo.

Laser-scanning optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy

We have developed a laser-scanning optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy method that can potentially fuse with existing optical microscopic imaging modalities. To acquire an image, the ultrasonic transducer is kept stationary during data acquisition, and only the laser light is raster scanned by an x-y galvanometer scanner. A lateral resolution of 7.8 microm and a circular field of view with a diameter of 6 mm were achieved in an optically clear medium. Using a laser system working at a pulse repetition rate of 1,024 Hz, the data acquisition time for an image consisting of 256 x 256 pixels was less than 2 min.

Optical-fiber-based Mueller optical coherence tomography

An optical-fiber-based multichannel polarization-sensitive Mueller optical coherence tomography (OCT) system was built to acquire the Jones or Mueller matrix of a scattering medium, such as biological tissue. For the first time to our knowledge, fiber-based polarization-sensitive OCT was dynamically calibrated to eliminate the polarization distortion caused by the single-mode optical fiber in the sample arm, thereby overcoming a key technical impediment to the application of optical fibers in this technology. The round-trip Jones matrix of the sampling fiber was acquired from the reflecting surface of the sample for each depth scan (A scan) with our OCT system. A new rigorous algorithm was then used to retrieve the calibrated polarization properties of the sample. This algorithm was validated with experimental data. The skin of a rat was imaged with this fiber-based system.

Contrast mechanisms in polarization-sensitive Mueller-matrix optical coherence tomography and application in burn imaging

We investigate the various contrast mechanisms provided by polarization-sensitive (PS) Mueller-matrix optical coherence tomography (OCT). Our PS multichannel Mueller-matrix OCT is the first, to our knowledge, to offer simultaneously comprehensive polarization-contrast mechanisms, including the amplitude of birefringence, the orientation of birefringence, and the diattenuation in addition to the polarization-independent intensity contrast, all of which can be extracted from the measured Jones or the equivalent Mueller matrix. Theoretical analysis shows that when diattenuation is negligible, the round-trip Jones matrix represents a linear retarder, which is the foundation of conventional PS-OCT, and can be calculated with a single incident polarization state, although the one-way Jones matrix generally represents an elliptical retarder; otherwise, two incident polarization states are needed. The experimental results obtained from rat skin samples, which conform well with the histology, show that Mueller OCT provides complementary structural and functional information on biological samples and reveal that polarization contrast is more sensitive to thermal degeneration of biological tissue than amplitude-based contrast. Thus, Mueller OCT has significant potential for application in the noninvasive assessment of burn depth.

Simultaneous multimodal imaging with integrated photoacoustic microscopy and optical coherence tomography

We have developed a multimodal imaging technique by integrating photoacoustic microscopy and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography to provide simultaneous volumetric microscopic imaging of both optical absorption and scattering contrasts in biological tissues. In the integrated system, the two imaging modalities share the same optical scanning and delivery mechanisms after their probing and illumination light beams are combined. By further synchronizing the image acquisitions, the images from the two modalities are intrinsically registered. The capabilities of this novel technique were demonstrated by imaging both the microanatomy and microvasculature in mouse ears in vivo.

Determination of local polarization properties of biological samples in the presence of diattenuation by use of Mueller optical coherence tomography

A unique feature of polarization-sensitive Mueller optical coherence tomography is that, by measuring Jones or Mueller matrices, it can reveal the complete polarization properties of biological samples, even in the presence of diattenuation. We map local polarization properties for the first time to our knowledge by using polar decomposition in combination with least-squares fitting to differentiate measured integrated Jones matrices with respect to depth. We also introduce the new concept of dual attenuation coefficients to characterize diattenuation per unit infinitesimal length in tissues. We experimentally verify the algorithm using measurements of a section of porcine tendon and the septum of a rat heart.