Cytorefractometry - a new technique for refractive index tomography of living cells

提出了一种超高分辨率双焦点光学相干折射法，并将导致微米级分辨率的活细胞折射率断层扫描，称为细胞折射法。该技术代表了双焦点光学相干折光术的扩展，该技术最近在直接、每秒几帧、无运动伪影的混浊介质（包括体内生物组织）折射率测定方面显示出了显著的前景。我们建议利用折射率对比机制，将我们的新技术应用于研究组织钙化，这是心脏病学中的一个严重问题。我们将研究平滑肌细胞的钙化和主动脉皮下植入模型，以预防钙化相关的病理。

An ultrahigh-resolution bifocal optical coherence refractometry is proposed, and will result to micron-scale-resolution refractive index tomography of living cells, termed cytorefractometry. This technique represents an extension from bifocal optical coherence refractometry that has recently shown a remarkable promise for direct, several-frames-per-second, motion-artifact-free determination of refractive index in turbid media, including biological tissue in vivo. We propose to apply our novel technique to study tissue calcification, a serious problem in cardiology, by making use of the refractive index contrast mechanism. Calcification of smooth muscle cells and aorta subdermal implant models will be studied aiming for prevention of calcification-associated pathologies.