In vivo imaging of corneal nerves and cellular structures in mice with Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy

Abstract

Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy (GDOCM) demonstrated <i>in vivo</i> corneal imaging with cellular resolution and differentiation in mice over a field of view of 1 mm². Contact and non-contact imaging was conducted on six healthy and six hyperglycemic C57BL/6J mice. Cellular resolution in the 3D GDOCM images was achieved after motion correction. Corneal nerve fibers were traced and their lengths and branches calculated. Noncontact, label-free imaging of corneal nerves has clinical utility in health and disease, and in transplant evaluation. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of <i>in vivo</i> 3D corneal imaging in mice with the capability to resolve nerve fibers using a non-contact imaging modality.