Quantitative phase and polarization imaging through an optical fiber applied to detection of early esophageal tumorigenesis

TY - JOUR

T1 - Quantitative phase and polarization imaging through an optical fiber applied to detection of early esophageal tumorigenesis

AU - Gordon, George S. D.

AU - Joseph, James

AU - Alcolea, Maria P.

AU - Sawyer, Travis

AU - Williams, Calum

AU - Fitzpatrick, Catherine R. M.

AU - Jones, Philip H.

AU - di Pietro, Massimiliano

AU - Fitzgerald, Rebecca C.

AU - Wilkinson, Timothy D.

AU - Bohndiek, Sarah E.

PY - 2019/12

Y1 - 2019/12

N2 - Phase and polarization of coherent light are highly perturbed by interaction with microstructural changes in premalignant tissue, holding promise for label-free detection of early tumors in endoscopically accessible tissues such as the gastrointestinal tract. Flexible optical multicore fiber (MCF) bundles used in conventional diagnostic endoscopy and endomicroscopy scramble phase and polarization, restricting clinicians instead to low-contrast amplitude-only imaging. We apply a transmission matrix characterization approach to produce full-field en-face images of amplitude, quantitative phase, and resolved polarimetric properties through an MCF. We first demonstrate imaging and quantification of biologically relevant amounts of optical scattering and birefringence in tissue-mimicking phantoms. We present an entropy metric that enables imaging of phase heterogeneity, indicative of disordered tissue microstructure associated with early tumors. Finally, we demonstrate that the spatial distribution of phase and polarization information enables label-free visualization of early tumors in esophageal mouse tissues, which are not identifiable using conventional amplitude-only information.

AB - Phase and polarization of coherent light are highly perturbed by interaction with microstructural changes in premalignant tissue, holding promise for label-free detection of early tumors in endoscopically accessible tissues such as the gastrointestinal tract. Flexible optical multicore fiber (MCF) bundles used in conventional diagnostic endoscopy and endomicroscopy scramble phase and polarization, restricting clinicians instead to low-contrast amplitude-only imaging. We apply a transmission matrix characterization approach to produce full-field en-face images of amplitude, quantitative phase, and resolved polarimetric properties through an MCF. We first demonstrate imaging and quantification of biologically relevant amounts of optical scattering and birefringence in tissue-mimicking phantoms. We present an entropy metric that enables imaging of phase heterogeneity, indicative of disordered tissue microstructure associated with early tumors. Finally, we demonstrate that the spatial distribution of phase and polarization information enables label-free visualization of early tumors in esophageal mouse tissues, which are not identifiable using conventional amplitude-only information.

KW - cancer

KW - optical fibers

KW - polarimetry

KW - quantitative phase imaging

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85076541877

U2 - 10.1117/1.JBO.24.12.126004

DO - 10.1117/1.JBO.24.12.126004

M3 - Article

C2 - 31840442

AN - SCOPUS:85076541877

SN - 1083-3668

VL - 24

JO - Journal of Biomedical Optics

JF - Journal of Biomedical Optics

IS - 12

M1 - 126004

ER -