Measuring neoplastic transformation in the hamster cheek pouch using Fourier domain low coherence interferometry
Fourier Domain Low Coherence Interferometry (fLCI) is a promising technique which combines the depth resolution of low coherence interferometry with the sensitivity of light scattering spectroscopy for probing the health of epithelial tissue layers. Our new fLCI system configuration utilizes a white light Xe arc lamp source and a 4-f interferometer which re-images light scattered from the sample onto the detection plane. The system employs an imaging spectrometer at the detection plane to acquire depth resolved profiles from 252 adjacent spatial points without the need for any scanning. The limited spatial coherence of the light source requires the resolution of adjacent spatial points for the generation of depth information. Depth-resolved spectral information is recovered by performing a short-time Fourier transform on the detected spectra, similar to spectroscopic optical coherence tomography. Wavelength dependent variations in scattering intensity are analyzed as a function of depth to obtain information about the neoplastic transformation of the probed cells. Previous studies have demonstrated fLCI as an excellent technique for probing the scatterer morphology of simple phantoms and of in vitro cancer cell monolayers. We now seek to assess the ability of the new fLCI system to measure the health of subsurface tissue layers using the hamster cheek pouch model. Seven hamsters will have one cheek pouch treated with the known carcinogen DMBA. At the conclusion of the 24 week treatment period the animals will be anesthetized and the cheek pouches will be extracted. We will use the fLCI optical system to measure the neoplastic transformation of the in situ subsurface tissue layers in both the normal and DMBA-treated cheek pouches. Traditional histological analysis will be used to verify the fLCI measurements. We expect our results to establish the feasibility of fLCI to distinguish between healthy and dysplastic epithelial tissues in the hamster cheek pouch.
