Bubble raft-an optical phantom for analyzing artifacts in OCT imaging of lung

Accurate measurement of alveolar volume by lung imaging is crucial to study and understand respiratory mechanics. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), which generates cross-sectional microscopic image of tissue structure in real time based on near-infrared interferometry, can image several layers of distal alveoli in intact, ex vivo lung tissue. However, optical effects associated with heterogeneity of lung tissue results in incorrect alveoli shape imaging and inaccurate assessment of lung volume. Due to the irregular cellular shape of lung tissue and the lack of ground truth, these errors are difficult to analyze, as well as remove. To address this, the Bragg-Nye bubble raft, a two-dimensional crystalline arrangement of elements similar in geometry to alveoli has been adapted as an inflated lung phantom to study and analyze these errors.