Ultrahigh resolution in vivo versus ex vivo OCT imaging and tissue preservation

Summary form only given. Many previous studies have compared ex vivo OCT imaging to histopathology. While some tissues, such are arterial pathology or cartilage, are relatively stable post mortem, others, such as epithelial tissues, exhibit rapid degradation. It is therefore important to preserve these tissues with minimal changes in morphology. The goal of this study is to investigate the difference between in vivo and ex vivo OCT imaging and the effect of different preservation solutions on image quality using the hamster cheek pouch. The hamster cheek pouch was chosen because of its easy access and because it is a well established model for carcinogenesis and cancer progression. The advent of the ultrahigh resolution OCT imaging technology is important for this study because it enables changes in tissue morphology to be dearly visualized which may have been difficult to resolve with standard resolution OCT imaging.