Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography on different tissues samples for tumor discrimination

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is now state of the art in ophthalmology. Other medical departments, such as otolaryngology, could also benefit from this imaging modality. Polarization is a property which is a benefit to conventional OCT. It can be used in particular to detect birefringent tissue layers. To evaluate possible OCT applications in Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department, a fiber-based polarization-sensitive OCT (PSOCT) is used to measure human ex-vivo tissue biopsies. A total of 58 samples from 20 different tissues were measured. The measurements show that small biopsies lose their birefringent property, this leads to the assumption that tissue-matrices lose tension and molecular order. Larger samples show phase retardation and are used to detect different birefringent layers of tissue. We also show a method of verifying cancer diagnosis by displaying the tissue layer structure. As a conclusion, PS-OCT may improve cancer diagnosis in ENT.