UltraSound-induced reorientation for multi-angle optical coherence tomography

Organoid and spheroid technology provide valuable insights into developmental biology and oncology. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a label-free technique that has emerged as an excellent tool for monitoring the structure and function of these samples. However, mature organoids are often too opaque for OCT. Access to multi-angle views is highly desirable to overcome this limitation, preferably with non-contact sample handling. To fulfil these requirements, we present an ultrasound-induced reorientation method for multi-angle-OCT, which employs a 3D-printed acoustic trap inserted into an OCT imaging system, to levitate and reorient zebrafish larvae and tumor spheroids in a controlled and reproducible manner. A model-based algorithm was developed for the physically consistent fusion of multi-angle data from a priori unknown angles. We demonstrate enhanced penetration depth in the joint 3D-recovery of reflectivity, attenuation, refractive index, and position registration for zebrafish larvae, creating an enabling tool for future applications in volumetric imaging.

Mia Kvåle Løvmo, Shiyu Deng, Simon Moser, Rainer Leitgeb, Wolfgang Drexler, Monika Ritsch-Marte