In vivo three-dimensional optical coherence elastography

We present the first three-dimensional (3D) data sets recorded using optical coherence elastography (OCE). Uni-axial strain rate was measured on human skin in vivo using a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) system providing >450 times higher line rate than previously reported for in vivo OCE imaging. Mechanical excitation was applied at a frequency of 125 Hz using a ring actuator sample arm with, for the first time in OCE measurements, a controlled static preload. We performed 3D-OCE, processed in 2D and displayed in 3D, on normal and hydrated skin and observed a more elastic response of the stratum corneum in the hydrated case. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America