Congenital abnormalities of the limbs are common birth defects. These include missing or extra fingers or toes, abnormal limb length, and abnormalities in patterning of bones, cartilage or muscles. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a 3-D imaging modality, which can produce high-resolution (~8 μm) images of developing embryos with an imaging depth of a few millimeters. Here we demonstrate the capability of OCT to perform 3D imaging of limb development in normal embryos and a mouse model with congenital abnormalities. Our results suggest that OCT is a promising tool to analyze embryonic limb development in mammalian models of congenital defects.
© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
