Helical optical projection tomography.

A new technique termed Helical Optical Projection Tomography (hOPT) has been developed with the aim to overcome some of the limitations of current 3D optical imaging techniques. hOPT is based on Optical Projection Tomography (OPT) with the major difference that there is a translation of the sample in the vertical direction during the image acquisition process, requiring a new approach to image reconstruction. Contrary to OPT, hOPT makes possible to obtain 3D-optical images of intact long samples without imposing limits on the sample length. This has been tested using hOPT to image long murine tissue samples such as spinal cords and large intestines. Moreover, 3D-reconstructed images of the colon of DSS-treated mice, a model for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, allowed the identification of the structural alterations. Finally, the geometry of the hOPT device facilitates the addition of a Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) arm, providing the possibility of delivering high resolution images of selected areas together with complete volumetric information.