Oblique back-illumination capillaroscopy (OBC) has recently demonstrated clear images of unlabeled human blood cells in vivo. Combined with deep learning-based algorithms, this technology may enable non-invasive blood cell counting and analysis as flowing red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells can be observed in their native environment. To harness the full potential of OBC, new techniques and methods must be developed that provide ground truth data using human blood cells. Here we present such a model, where human blood cells with paired ground truth information are imaged flowing in a custom tissue-mimicking micro fluidic device. This model enables the acquisition of OBC datasets that will help with both training and validating machine learning models for applications including the complete blood count, specific blood cell classification, and the study of hematologic disorders such as anemia.
Oblique back-illumination capillaroscopy (OBC) has recently demonstrated high resolution, label-free images of human blood cells in vivo. This technology shows promise for a new chapter in blood analysis, where blood cell counts, morphology, and dynamics can be probed non-invasively. OBC provides high quality blood cell images when applied to the ventral tongue, where capillaries are superficial and melanin is minimal. However, the anatomy of this location has a unique and challenging constraints due to the highly muscular and mobile nature of the tongue, and its presence within the oral cavity. This manuscript presents a portable and ergonomic dual- channel OBC system that is optimized for imaging the ventral tongue. The portable OBC system uses pneumatic stabilization to reduce capillary motion and is built upon an ophthalmic slit lamp housing to allow comfortable stabilization of the head and fine, 3-axis translation of the imaging probe. The signal from two diametrically opposed LEDs (530nm and 650nm) are imaged onto two time-synchronized CMOS sensors, providing combined phase-weighted and absorption-weighted contrast of blood cells at 200 Hz with a 165 x 220μm field-of-view. This functional implementation of OBC technology will enable high resolution blood cell imaging of patients with hematologic disease.
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