Using swept source optical coherence tomography to monitor wound healing in tissue engineered skin

There is an increasing need for a robust simple to use non-invasive imaging technology for monitoring tissue engineered constructs as they develop. We have applied optical coherence tomography (OCT), a relatively new optical technique, to image tissue engineered constructs. Our aim was to evaluate the use of swept-source optical coherence tomography (SSOCT) to non-invasively image reconstructed skin as it developed over several weeks. The epidermis of the reconstructed skin was readily distinguished from the neodermis when examined with standard histology - a destructive imaging technique - of samples. The development of reconstructed skin based on deepithelialised acellular dermis (DED) was accurately monitored with SS-OCT over three weeks and confirmed with conventional histology. It was also possible to image changes in the epidermis due to the presence of melanoma and the healing of these 3D models after wounding with a scalpel, with or without the addition of a fibrin clot. SS-OCT is proving to be a valuable tool in tissue engineering, showing great promise for the non-invasive imaging of optically turbid tissue engineered constructs, including tissue engineered skin.