Campus-wide Optical Coherence Tomography Facility

我们试图使活的多细胞和细胞外组织的成像在高空间和时间分辨率与偏振敏感光学相干断层扫描（OCT），在麦克马斯特大学不可用。OCT分析由组织反射的激光，以类似于超声成像中的反向散射声音的方式生成XYZ图像。OCT使我们能够在几毫米的深度上以低至3微米的空间分辨率和5毫秒的时间分辨率分辨难以成像的活组织。这种成像的“最佳点”填补了浅穿透之间的差距，但高分辨率的共聚焦和组织水平的功能磁共振成像的活材料。随着我们将组织的相关显微镜技术扩展到多细胞水平和组织-生物材料相互作用，“最佳点”对生物医学越来越重要。 OCT光学和计算已经显着成熟，新的多用户交钥匙系统现在可以让非专业人士使用。特别感兴趣的是偏振敏感OCT，以分辨活组织中的纤维状和周期性结构，例如细胞外基质或聚合物基质，如生物材料中的纤维素。麦克马斯特大学最近在全校范围内建立了“先进光学显微镜中心”（CALM），为麦克马斯特大学和缺乏开放光学显微镜能力的邻近大学提供了专业知识、支持和便利。麦克马斯特的设施方法将促进跨模式和规模与其他成像系统的相关成像，如共聚焦或原子力显微镜，并与先进的光驱动增材制造集成，用于生物医学应用。 立即要求OCT完成并扩展申请人对细胞外基质适应应激的研究。六名研究者，在所有的职业生涯阶段，现在需要OCT来验证组织对应力的适应性，包括组织与生物材料的相互作用。中等规模组织成像的前景聚集了不同学科的麦克马斯特研究人员，并引发了意想不到的合作。我们相信OCT是跨学科合作和创新的催化剂。我们预计，一个集中的、交钥匙的OCT设施将进一步扩大HQP在不同学科的互动、接触和专业知识。申请人和CALM将为多元化的用户群建立一个培训和教育计划，进一步实现公平，多样性和包容性的目标。 我们预期的研究将深入了解人类和模式生物如何适应生理压力和衰老，对公共卫生产生影响，以及生物材料新结构的创新，以加强健康（组织支架，疾病测试）和环境（生物膜，毒素测定）的生物监测。我们的HQP可以开辟新的研究途径，并为商业生物医学和工程研究和开发贡献新的专业知识。 包括在校园设施将最大限度地提高HQP访问，设备寿命和财务管理。

We seek to enable imaging of living multicellular and extracellular tissues at high spatial and temporal resolution with Polarisation Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), unavailable at McMaster University. OCT analyses laser light reflected by tissue to generate XYZ images in a manner analogous to backscattered sound in ultrasound imaging. OCT allows us to resolve difficult-to-image living tissues with as low as 3 micron spatial and 5 msec temporal resolution, at depths of several millimeters. This sweet spot' for imaging fills the gap between shallow penetration, but high resolution confocal and tissue level fMRI imaging for living material. The sweet spot' is increasingly important to characterise as we extend correlative microscopy of tissues to the multicellular level and tissue-biomaterial interactions. OCT optics and computation have matured dramatically, and new multi-user turnkey systems can now enable use by non-specialists. Of particular interest is Polarisation Sensitive OCT to resolve fibrillar and periodic structures in living tissue, such as extracellular matrix or polymer matrices like cellulose in biomaterials. McMaster's recent establishment of a campus-wide “Centre for Advanced Light Microscopy” (CALM) provides the expertise, support and accessibility to bring OCT to McMaster- and neighbouring universities lacking open OCT capability. McMaster's facility approach will foster correlative imaging across modes and scale with other imaging systems, like confocal or atomic force microscopy, and integration with advanced light-driven additive manufacturing for biomedical applications. Immediately, OCT is required to complete and extend research by applicants on adaptation to stress of extracellular matrix. Six investigators, at all career stages require OCT now to characterise tissue adaptations to stress, including tissue interaction with biomaterials. The prospect of mid-scale tissue imaging has assembled McMaster investigators across diverse disciplines and triggered unexpected collaborations. We believe OCT is a catalyst for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. We anticipate a central, turnkey OCT facility will further broaden interaction, access and expertise of HQP across different disciplines. Applicants and CALM will establish a training and education program for a diverse user pool, furthering goals in equity, diversity, and inclusion. Our anticipated studies will generate insights into how human and model organisms accommodate physiological stress and aging, with a public health impact, as well as innovation of new structures in biomaterials to enhance biomonitoring in health (tissue scaffolds, disease testing) and environment (biofilms, toxin assays). Our HQP can open new avenues of investigation and contribute new expertise to commercial biomedical and engineering research and development. Inclusion in a campus facility will maximize HQP access, equipment lifespan and financial management.