Label-free assessment of renal function with unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model by optical coherence microscopy

We demonstrate label-free imaging of renal function with a unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) kidney mouse model. The imaging was performed by optical coherence microscopy which is capable of measuring tissue dynamics. Two different studies comprising of 1-week and 2-week UUO models were performed. A circular ring-shape high dynamics appearance at the periphery of the tissue surface was found in the 1-week UUO model for both obstructed and contralateral non-obstructed kidneys. In the 2-week UUO model, several vertical high dynamics regions were observed in cross-sectional dynamics images for both obstructed and non-obstructed kidneys. The results were validated by histological analysis.