In vitro ovarian tumor growth and treatment response dynamics visualized with time-lapse OCT imaging

In vitro three-dimensional models for metastatic ovarian cancer have been useful for recapitulating the human disease. These spheroidal tumor cultures, however, can grow in excess of 1 mm in diameter, which are difficult to visualize without suitable imaging technology.Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an ideal live imaging method for non-perturbatively visualizing these complex systems. OCT enabled detailed observations of the model at both nodular and cellular levels, revealing growth dynamics not previously observed. The development of a time-lapse OCT system, capable of automated, multidimensional acquisition, further provided insights into the growth and chemotherapeutic response of ovarian cancer.