A scanning-fiber-based method developed for imaging bioengineered tissue constructs such as synthetic carotid arteries is reported. Our approach is based on directly embedding one or more hollow-core silica fibers within the tissue scaffold to function as micro-imaging channels (MIC). The imaging process is carried out by translating and rotating an angle-polished fiber micro-mirror within the MIC to scan excitation light across the tissue scaffold. The locally emitted fluorescent signals are captured using an electron multiplying CCD camera and then mapped into fluorophore distributions according to fiber micro-mirror positions. Using an optical phantom composed of fluorescent microspheres, tissue scaffolds, and porcine skin, we demonstrated single-cell-level imaging resolution (20 to 30 μm) at an imaging depth that exceeds the photon transport mean free path by one order of magnitude. This result suggests that the imaging depth is no longer constrained by photon scattering, but rather by the requirement that the fluorophore signal overcomes the background "noise" generated by processes such as scaffold autofluorescence. Finally, we demonstrated the compatibility of our imaging method with tissue engineering by visualizing endothelial cells labeled with green fluorescent protein through a ≈ 500 μm thick and highly scattering electrospun scaffold.
