Multispectral Muller matrix imaging: a potential tool to visualize white matter tracts

Abstract

In this study, we applied Multispectral Mueller Matrix Imaging (MMI) at six distinct wavelengths in the visible range to analyze brain structures using lamb cerebral samples. The imaging of several brain sections revealed that white matter (WM) exhibits pronounced depolarization and retardance when contrasted with grey matter (GM), a phenomenon likely attributed to the elevated scattering and anisotropic nature of WM. More precisely, with an increase in wavelength, both depolarization and retardance also increase, suggesting additional penetration into deeper tissue layers. Employing various wavelengths enabled us to trace the shifts in the optical axis of retardance within the brain tissue, offering insights into the morphological changes in WM and GM below the cortical surface. The consistency observed in our results highlights the promise of Multispectral Wide-Field MMI as a non-intrusive, efficacious modality for probing brain architecture.