Imaging Melanin Distribution in the Zebrafish Retina Using Photothermal Optical Coherence Tomography

Purpose : To demonstrate and validate that photothermal optical coherence tomography (PT-OCT) can image melanin in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and can observe light-driven melanosome translocation in the zebrafish retina. Methods : A commercial spectral domain OCT system was modified to perform both OCT and PT-OCT. Four adult tyrosinase-mosaic zebrafish with varying levels of melanin expression across their retinas were imaged, and the PT-OCT signal for pigmented and nonpigmented regions were compared. Wild-type dark-adapted ( n = 11 fish) and light-adapted ( n = 10 fish) zebrafish were also imaged with OCT and PT-OCT. Longitudinal reflectivity and absorption profiles were generated from B-scans to compare ...
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