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Investigating in vivo airway wall mechanics during tidal breathing with optical coherence tomography Claire Robertson Sang-Won Lee Yeh-Chan Ahn Sari Mahon Zhongping Chen Matthew Brenner Steven C. George Journal of Biomedical Optics 16(10), 106011 (October 2011) Investigating in vivo airway wall mechanics during tidal breathing with optical coherence tomography Claire Robertson,a,b Sang-Won Lee,c,d Yeh-Chan Ahn,c,e Sari Mahon,c Zhongping Chen,a,b,c Matthew Brenner,c,f and Steven C. Georgea,b,g a University of California, Irvine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Irvine, California 92697 b University of California, Irvine, The Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology, Irvine, California 92697 c University of California, Irvine, Beckman Laser Institute, 1002 Health Sciences Rd. East, Irvine, California 92612 d Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, 138 Gajeongno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-700, Korea e Pukyong National University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, 599-1 Daeyeon 3-dong, Nam-gu, Busan, 608-737 Korea f University of California Irvine Medical Center, Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, Orange, California 92868 g University of California, Irvine, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Irvine, California 92697 Abstract. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a nondestructive imaging technique offering high temporal and spatial resolution, which makes it a natural choice for assessing tissue mechanical properties. We have developed methods to mechanically analyze the compliance of the rabbit trachea in vivo using tissue deformations induced by tidal breathing, offering a unique tool to assess the behavior of the airways during their normal function. Four- hundred images were acquired during tidal breathing with a custom-built endoscopic OCT system. The surface of