Nanobomb optical coherence elastography

Opt Lett. 2018 May 1;43(9):2006-2009. doi: 10.1364/OL.43.002006.

Abstract

Wave-based optical elastography is rapidly emerging as a powerful technique for quantifying tissue biomechanical properties due to its noninvasive nature and high displacement sensitivity. However, current approaches are limited in their ability to produce high-frequency waves and highly localized mechanical stress. In this Letter, we demonstrate that the rapid liquid-to-gas phase transition of dye-loaded perfluorocarbon nanodroplets ("nanobombs") initiated by a pulsed laser can produce highly localized, high-frequency, and broadband elastic waves. The waves were detected by an ultra-fast line-field low-coherence holography system. For comparison, we also excited waves using a focused micro-air-pulse. Results from tissue-mimicking phantoms showed that the nanobombs produced elastic waves with frequencies up to ∼9 kHz, which was much greater than the ∼2 kHz waves excited by the air-pulse. Consequently, the nanobombs enabled more accurate quantification of sample viscoelasticity. Combined with their potential for functionalization, the nanobombs show promise for accurate and highly specific noncontact all-optical elastography.

MeSH terms

  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Carbocyanines / chemistry*
  • Elastic Modulus*
  • Elasticity Imaging Techniques / instrumentation*
  • Elasticity Imaging Techniques / methods
  • Fluorocarbons / chemistry*
  • Lasers, Solid-State
  • Microspheres
  • Phantoms, Imaging*
  • Stress, Mechanical
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / instrumentation*
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / methods

Substances

  • Carbocyanines
  • Fluorocarbons
  • cyanine dye 3
  • perfluoropentane