Optical Coherence Tomography for Assessment of Epithelialization in a Human Ex Vivo Wound Model

This study investigated OCT as a novel method for assessing re‐epithelialization in the human ex vivo wound model. Excisional ex vivo wounds were created, maintained at air‐liquid interface, and healing progression was assessed at days 4 and 7 with OCT and histology. OCT provided adequate resolution to identify the epidermis, the papillary and reticular dermis, and importantly, migrating epithelium in the wound bed. We have deployed OCT as a non‐invasive tool to produce, longitudinal "optical biopsies" of ex vivo human wound healing process, and we established an optimal quantification method of re‐epithelialization based on en face OCT images of the total wound area. Pairwise statistical analysis of OCT and histology based quantifications for the rate of epithelialization have shown the feasibility and superiority of OCT technology for non‐invasive monitoring of human wound epithelialization. Furthermore, we have utilized OCT to evaluate therapeutic potential of allogeneic adipose stem cells revealing their ability to promote re‐epithelialization in human ex vivo wounds. OCT technology is promising for its applications in wound healing and evaluation of novel therapeutics in both the laboratory and the clinical settings. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Source: Wound Repair and Regeneration - Category: Surgery Authors: Tags: Technical Article Source Type: research