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Embryo development is driven by several substantial events that cause structural modifications during growth. The progressive changes in the embryo during this important period cause simultaneous alterations of its biomechanical properties. Understanding the structural modifications and changes in stiffness during embryo development is important for comprehending its growth and potentially detecting congenital diseases. The aim of this study is to map the biomechanical properties of embryos in 3D during development. Murine embryos at gestational day (GD) 11 were imaged using 3D Reverberant optical coherence elastography (Rev-OCE). The embryos were placed on a glass window, which was vibrated by an actuator at 1 kHz. In addition to providing the vibration, the glass window also enabled imaging in the common path configuration, which eliminated environmental noise and improved the displacement sensitivity of the system to sub-nanometer levels. The results showed the structural changes and the differences in stiffness in the embryo. The stiffness of the embryos from GD 11 showed stiffer areas along the developing spinal cord. Combining high-resolution OCT with elastography allowed us to understand the structural and biomechanical changes in the embryo during its development. Thus, this study provides important insights into embryo mechanical properties, which could serve as a potential biomarker for deficiencies in embryo development. Our future work is focused on imaging embryos at different stages as well as studying mutant models of congenital diseases, such as neural tube defects.
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