Polarimetry-based method to extract geometry-independent metrics of tissue anisotropy

Recently, we have used polarimetry as a method for assessing the linear retardance of infarcted myocardium. While linear retardance reflects tissue anisotropy, experimental geometry has a confounding effect due to dependence of the linear retardance on the orientation of the sample with respect to the probing beam. Here, polarimetry imaging of an 8 mm diameter birefringent polystyrene sphere of known anisotropy axis was used to test a dual-projection method by which the anisotropy axis and its true magnitude can be reconstructed, thus eliminating the confounding effect of anisotropy axis orientation. Feasibility is demonstrated in ex-vivo tissue imaging. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America