TY - JOUR
T1 - Backscattering Mueller Matrix polarimetry on whole brain specimens shows promise for minimally invasive mapping of microstructural orientation features
AU - Bonaventura, Justina
AU - Morara, Kellys
AU - Carlson, Rhea
AU - Comrie, Courtney
AU - Daigle, Noelle
AU - Hutchinson, Elizabeth
AU - Sawyer, Travis W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Bonaventura, Morara, Carlson, Comrie, Daigle, Hutchinson and Sawyer.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Understanding microscale physiology and microstructural cellular features of the brain is key to understanding mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and injury, as well as prominent changes undergone in development and aging. Non-invasive imaging modalities sensitive to the microscale, especially diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI), are promising for mapping of cellular microstructure of brain tissues; however, there is a need for robust validation techniques to verify and improve the biological accuracy of information derived. Recent advances in dMRI have moved toward probing of the more complex grey matter architecture, challenging current validation techniques, which are largely based on ex vivo staining and microscopy focusing on white matter. Polarized light imaging (PLI) has been shown to be successful for high resolution, direct, microstructural imaging and has been applied to dMRI validation with clear advantages over staining and microscopy techniques. Conventionally, PLI is applied to thin, sectioned samples in transmission mode, but PLI has also been extended to operate in reflectance mode to bridge the gap toward in vivo measurements of the brain. In this report we investigate the use of backscattering Mueller Matrix polarimetry to characterize the microstructural content of intact ferret brain specimens. The results show that backscattering polarimetry can probe white matter fiber coherence and fiber orientation, and show promise for probing grey matter microstructure. Ultimately, this motivates further study to fully understand how best to implement backscattering polarimetry for in vivo microstructural imaging of the brain.
AB - Understanding microscale physiology and microstructural cellular features of the brain is key to understanding mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and injury, as well as prominent changes undergone in development and aging. Non-invasive imaging modalities sensitive to the microscale, especially diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI), are promising for mapping of cellular microstructure of brain tissues; however, there is a need for robust validation techniques to verify and improve the biological accuracy of information derived. Recent advances in dMRI have moved toward probing of the more complex grey matter architecture, challenging current validation techniques, which are largely based on ex vivo staining and microscopy focusing on white matter. Polarized light imaging (PLI) has been shown to be successful for high resolution, direct, microstructural imaging and has been applied to dMRI validation with clear advantages over staining and microscopy techniques. Conventionally, PLI is applied to thin, sectioned samples in transmission mode, but PLI has also been extended to operate in reflectance mode to bridge the gap toward in vivo measurements of the brain. In this report we investigate the use of backscattering Mueller Matrix polarimetry to characterize the microstructural content of intact ferret brain specimens. The results show that backscattering polarimetry can probe white matter fiber coherence and fiber orientation, and show promise for probing grey matter microstructure. Ultimately, this motivates further study to fully understand how best to implement backscattering polarimetry for in vivo microstructural imaging of the brain.
KW - backscattering polarimetry
KW - brain tissue
KW - microstructural orientation
KW - microstructure
KW - MRI validation
KW - Mueller Matrix
KW - white matter
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U2 - 10.3389/fphot.2022.1034739
DO - 10.3389/fphot.2022.1034739
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85159789694
SN - 2673-6853
VL - 3
JO - Frontiers in Photonics
JF - Frontiers in Photonics
M1 - 1034739
ER -