Optical coherence elastography for tissue characterization: A review

Optical coherence elastography (OCE) represents the frontier of optical elasticity imaging techniques and focuses on the micro-scale assessment of tissue biomechanics in 3D that is hard to achieve with traditional elastographic methods. Benefit from the advancement of optical coherence tomography, and driven by the increasing requirements in nondestructive biomechanical characterization, this emerging technique recently has experienced a rapid development. In this paper, we start with the description of the mechanical contrast that has been employed by OCE and review the state-of-the-art techniques based on the reported applications and discuss the current technical challenges, emphasizing the unique role of OCE in tissue mechanical characterization. The position of OCE among other elastography techniques. Optical coherence elastography (OCE) is an emerging 3D nondestructive biomechanical imaging technique that has recently experienced a rapid development. In this paper, the mechanical contrast employed by OCE is described, the state-of-the-art OCE techniques are reviewed from the application point of view, and the current challenges and potential solutions are discussed. Throughout this review, the unique role of OCE for the mechanical characterization of tissue are emphasized and highlighted.