Long Dilara J, Xia Tian, Rice Photini F, Scully Deirdre M, Johnson Makayla, Mistifer Ryan, Aguirre Andrea, Heusinkveld John M, Larina Irina V, Barton Jennifer K
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Department of Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
Lasers Surg Med. 2025 Sep;57(7):598-607. doi: 10.1002/lsm.70049. Epub 2025 Jul 18.
The movement of cilia in the fallopian tubes (FTs) facilitates important processes involved in fertility, and abnormalities in cilia function are linked with diseases including endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease. For the first time, we demonstrate the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to create depth-resolved mapping of motile cilia locations and quantify cilia beat frequency (CBF) in human FT samples ex vivo.
Segments of the FT ampulla were acquired from five patients following salpingectomy under an IRB approved protocol. The samples were longitudinally opened to expose the luminal surface for imaging. A sequence of at least 500 OCT images were acquired at 5-10 locations on each sample. To define the location of the motile cilia in the images, pixel-wise Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis of intensity fluctuations with a sliding temporal window was performed on each image sequence. The frequencies corresponding to the physiological range of CBF (2-10 Hz) were selected for mapping, while the part of the FFT spectrum at higher frequencies (> 23 Hz) was used to define the noise threshold. The frequency with the highest FFT amplitude for each supra-threshold pixel was considered the CBF for this pixel and used to create a color-coded CBF map. The CBF map was overlaid with the OCT intensity image sequences to reveal cilia locations. Frequency histograms from the sliding window were examined to assess temporal consistency of the mapping and evaluate movement artifacts.
OCT image sequences clearly showed the structure of FT plicae. The ciliated epithelium was obvious as a "shimmering" (rapidly changing intensity) layer atop plicae. Colored pixels on CBF maps visually aligned to these shimmering regions. Frequency histograms revealed that the image sequence peak CBF could be robustly determined, even in the presence of outliers attributable to table vibrations or bulk sample movement.
OCT can provide depth-resolved maps of CBF in human ex vivo FT tissue. Potentially, this technique can aid in understanding cilia dynamics in the normal human FT over the menstrual cycle and across age, as well as in diseases that affect the FTs. Future work will be directed toward in vivo implementation including miniaturization and robust motion compensation.
输卵管（FT）中纤毛的运动有助于生育相关的重要过程，纤毛功能异常与包括子宫内膜异位症和盆腔炎在内的疾病有关。我们首次展示了使用光学相干断层扫描（OCT）在体外对人体FT样本中的活动纤毛位置进行深度分辨映射并量化纤毛摆动频率（CBF）。
在经机构审查委员会（IRB）批准的方案下，从五名患者输卵管切除术获取的输卵管壶腹部节段。将样本纵向打开以暴露管腔表面进行成像。在每个样本的5至10个位置采集至少500幅OCT图像序列。为了在图像中定义活动纤毛的位置，对每个图像序列进行强度波动的逐像素快速傅里叶变换（FFT）分析，采用滑动时间窗口。选择对应于CBF生理范围（2 - 10Hz）的频率进行映射，而较高频率（> 23Hz）处的FFT谱部分用于定义噪声阈值。每个超阈值像素的FFT幅度最高的频率被视为该像素的CBF，并用于创建颜色编码的CBF图。将CBF图与OCT强度图像序列叠加以显示纤毛位置。检查滑动窗口的频率直方图以评估映射的时间一致性并评估运动伪影。
OCT图像序列清晰显示了FT皱襞的结构。纤毛上皮作为皱襞顶部的“闪烁”（强度快速变化）层很明显。CBF图上的彩色像素在视觉上与这些闪烁区域对齐。频率直方图显示，即使存在由于台面振动或样本整体移动导致的异常值，也能可靠地确定图像序列的峰值CBF。
OCT可以提供人体体外FT组织中CBF的深度分辨图。潜在地，该技术有助于理解正常人体FT在月经周期和不同年龄段以及影响FT的疾病中的纤毛动力学。未来的工作将致力于体内实施，包括小型化和强大的运动补偿。
