We aimed to validate for the first time optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements of epidermal thickness (ET) using cryopreparation for histology. OCT assessments of ET were performed on healthy skin using the algorithms as follows: first, peak-to-valley analysis of the A-scan (ET-OCT-V), second, line-traced image analysis of the B-scan (ET-OCT-IA). Histology was performed using cryostat sections which were also evaluated using the image analysis (ET-Histo). We selected 114 samples, including B-scans and corresponding histology, for method comparison between ET-OCT-IA and ET-Histo. Forty-two A-scans were available for method comparison between ET-OCT-V and ET-Histo. Bland and Altman plots revealed a marked bias with wide 95% limits of agreement for ET-OCT-V versus ET-Histo. Comparison of ET-OCT-IA versus ET-Histo revealed only a slight bias and narrow 95% limits of agreement. A-scan analysis for ET determination is linked to significant limitations and lacks agreement with histology. By contrast, we observed satisfactory agreement between ET-OCT-IA and ET-Histo indicating that both methods can be utilized interchangeably. OCT using the line-traced image analysis of the B-scan appears to be a valid and relatively practicable method for the determination of ET in vivo. Furthermore, the comparisons with the in vivo OCT profiles demonstrate that cryostat sectioning provides a better preservation of relative and absolute dimensions of skin layers than paraffin embedding.

We investigate optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a method for imaging bone. The OCT images are compared directly to those of the standard methods of bone histology and microcomputed tomography (microCT) on a single, fixed human femoral trabecular bone sample. An advantage of OCT over bone histology is its noninvasive nature. OCT also images the lamellar structure of trabeculae at slightly higher contrast than normal bone histology. While microCT visualizes the trabecular framework of the whole sample, OCT can image additionally cells with a penetration depth limited approximately to 1 mm. The most significant advantage of OCT, however, is the absence of toxic effects (no ionizing radiation), i.e., continuous images may be made and individual cell tracking may be performed. The penetration depth of OCT, however, limits its use to small animal models and small bone organ cultures.

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