Depth-resolved monitoring of glucose diffusion in tissues by using optical coherence tomography

We demonstrate the capability of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) technique for depth-resolved monitoring and quantifying of glucose diffusion in fibrous tissues (sclera). The depth-resolved and average permeability coefficients of glucose were calculated. We found that the glucose diffusion rate is not uniform throughout the tissue and is increased from approximately 2.39±0.73 × 10^-6 cm/s at the epithelial side to 8.63±0.27 × 10^-6 cm/s close to the endothelial side of the sciera. Results demonstrated that the OCT technique is capable of depth-resolved monitoring and quantification of glucose diffusion in sciera with a resolution of approximately 40 μm.