Wide-field intraoperative polarization sensitive and angiographic optical coherence tomography of in vivo non-human primate peripheral nerve (Conference Presentation)

We demonstrate wide-field intraoperative in vivo PS-OCT and OCT-A imaging of non-human primate (NHP) peripheral nerves using a portable OCT prototype. Imaging was performed on healthy and surgically repaired (12 months after graft surgery) radial nerves in upper extremity of rhesus macaques (n=17) over surgically exposed nerve segments of up to 8 cm in length. We describe the capabilities and challenges of PS-OCT and OCT-A in assessing NHP peripheral nerves. Further, guided by imaging of NHP peripheral nerves, we discuss the required advancements in core polarimetry techniques to enhance the prospects of clinical utility of PS-OCT in peripheral nerve imaging.