Differentiation of semi-transparent tissue phantom inclusions using optical coherence tomography towards label-free neurography and lymphography

Significance Lymphatic and peripheral nervous system imaging is of prime importance for monitoring various important pathologic processes including cancer development, metastasis, and response to therapy. Aim Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising approach for this imaging task but is challenged by the near-transparent nature of these structures. Our aim is to detect and differentiate semi-transparent materials using OCT texture analysis, towards label-free neurography and lymphography. Approach We have recently demonstrated a novel OCT texture analysis-based approach that used speckle statistics to image lymphatics and nerves in-vivo that does not rely on negative contrast. However, these two near-transparent structures could not be differentiated from each other easily in the texture analysis parameter space. Here we perform a rigorous follow-up study to improve upon this differentiation in controlled phantoms mimicking the optical properties of these tissues. Results The results of the three-parameter Rayleigh distribution fit to the OCT images of six types of tissue-mimicking materials varying in transparency and biophysical properties demonstrate clear differences between them, suggesting routes for improved lymphatics-nerves differentiation. Conclusions We demonstrate a novel OCT texture analysis based lymphatics-nerves differentiation methodology in tissue-simulating phantoms. Future work will focus on in-vivo lymphangiography and neurography studies of longitudinal treatment monitoring for therapy feedback and optimization. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.