Characterization of the Microenvironment in Tumorigenesis with Multifunctional and Submicron-Resolution Optical Coherence Imaging

In this 3-year proposal, our goal is to develop a functional, ultrahigh-resolution, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography system (SD-OCT), being implemented for the study on the changes in the microenvironment of tumorigenesis. The spectral range of the proposed SD-OCT system ranges from 550-950 nm and the corresponding axial and transverse resolutions are 0.7 and 2 um, respectively, enabling to noninvasively reconstruct 3D microstructures of biological tissue. Additionally, functional imaging abilities based the proposed OCT configuration will be developed including angiography/lymphangiography, blood velocity distribution, scattering property, hemoglobin oxygen saturation, and elastography. The mouse skin model with implantation of cancer cells will be utilized for in vivo studies and the topics related to microenvironmental changes in the tumorigenesis will be investigated including morphological changes, angiogenesis, tumor elasticity/stiffness, and tumor oxygenation. Based on the developed techniques, we expect that the characteristics, mechanism and diagnostic indicators of tumorigenesis can be demonstrated. Therefore, in this propose, our working items in each year are as follows: The 1st year: (1) Develop the sub-micron OCT system (2) Study the morphological change in the tumorigenesis (3) Implement the developed sub-micron OCT system for analyses of optical properties of normal and tumor tissue The 2nd year: (1) Develop high-resolution angiography and lymphangiography techniques (2) Develop the algorithm of 3D distribution of blood velocity (3) Develop the algorithm of hemoglobin oxygenation (4) Implement the developed angiographic techniques for the study of tumorigenesis. The 3rd year: (1) Develop the sub-micron optical coherence elastography (OCE) (2) Implement the developed sub-micron OCE for the study of normal and tumor tissue (3) Implement the developed functional, sub-micron OCT system for the inflammation study

Project ID:PB10901-0366
External Project ID:MOST107-2628-E182-001-MY3