Third and second harmonic generation imaging of human articular cartilage

Cartilage matrix is damaged in diseased states such as osteoarthritis while adult articular cartilage does not have the capacity to repair structural damage. A least invasive mean to diagnose these diseased states of human articular cartilage with a high spatial resolution is thus highly desired. In this paper we present our harmonic generation microscopic studies on the human articular cartilage samples. Without any staining third and second harmonic generation can provide strong contrast in chondrocytes and collagen matrix respectively. Our study indicates the high capability of harmonic generation microscopy for future articular cartilage disease diagnosis.