Quantitative polarized light microscopy of unstained mammalian cochlear sections
Name
Kalwani-2013-Quantitative polariz.pdf
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6.86 MB
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Author(s)
Kalwani, Neil M.
Ong, Cheng Ai
Lysaght, Andrew Christopher
Stankovic, Konstantina M.
Haward, Simon J.
McKinley, Gareth H.
Date Issued
February 2013
Journal
Journal of Biomedical Optics
Publisher
SPIE
Citation
Kalwani, Neil M. “Quantitative Polarized Light Microscopy of Unstained Mammalian Cochlear Sections.” Journal of Biomedical Optics 18.2 (2013): 026021. ©2013 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in the world, and most frequently it originates in the inner ear. Yet, the inner ear has been difficult to access for diagnosis because of its small size, delicate nature, complex three-dimensional anatomy, and encasement in the densest bone in the body. Evolving optical methods are promising to afford cellular diagnosis of pathologic changes in the inner ear. To appropriately interpret results from these emerging technologies, it is important to characterize optical properties of cochlear tissues. Here, we focus on that characterization using quantitative polarized light microscopy (qPLM) applied to unstained cochlear sections of the mouse, a common animal model of human hearing loss. We find that the most birefringent cochlear materials are collagen fibrils and myelin. Retardance of the otic capsule, the spiral ligament, and the basilar membrane are substantially higher than that of other cochlear structures. Retardance of the spiral ligament and the basilar membrane decrease from the cochlear base to the apex, compared with the more uniform retardance of other structures. The intricate structural details revealed by qPLM of unstained cochlear sections ex vivo strongly motivate future application of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography to human cochlea in vivo.
MIT Department
Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1117/1.jbo.18.2.026021
