SEMINAR: Physics Seminar

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging biomedical imaging modality that depth-resolves reflected light to produce images with micrometer-scale resolution and millimeter penetration depth into tissue. To enhance the capabilities of OCT, magnetic nanoparticles have been employed as imaging and elastography probes. For imaging, nanoparticles have been labeled with antibodies to target breast cancer, and also have been incorporated into blood platelets that can be infused into the bloodstream to target sites of thrombosis and vascular damage. For elastography, magnetically-actuated nanoparticles monitored with OCT are being used to study the mechanisms of airway wall breakdown (bronchiectasis) characteristic of advanced cystic fibrosis. This presentation will cover the variety of physical principles employed to develop these novel imaging applications.