Quantification method to objectively evaluate the fibrous structural status of tendons based on polarization‐sensitive OCT

摘要

Abstract Histological analysis is widely used to evaluate injured tendons; however, it has the limitation of being semi‐quantitative. Hence, we developed a quantification method to objectively evaluate the fibrous structure of tendons, exhibiting the optical property of birefringence, using polarization‐sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS‐OCT). We used a partial‐rupture rat model in which the middle 0.75 cm of the Achilles tendon was cut with a blade. Rats were sacrificed at 2, 4 or 6 weeks after the injury, and PS‐OCT and histological analyzes were performed. The PS‐OCT phase retardation images and score well represented the structural changes of the injured tendon according to the wound healing state. Therefore, the proposed novel quantification method using PS‐OCT can be used to evaluate the fibrous structural status of tendons.