High-resolution, depth-resolved vascular leakage measurements using contrast-enhanced, correlation-gated optical coherence tomography in mice.
Conrad W MerkleMarco AugustinDanielle J HarperJohanna GespergerAntonia LichteneggerPablo EuguiGerhard GarhöferMartin GlösmannBernhard BaumannPublished in: Biomedical optics express (2021)
Vascular leakage plays a key role in vision-threatening retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Fluorescence angiography is the current gold standard for identification of leaky vasculature in vivo, however it lacks depth resolution, providing only 2D images that complicate precise identification and localization of pathological vessels. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been widely adopted for clinical ophthalmology due to its high, micron-scale resolution and rapid volumetric scanning capabilities. Nevertheless, OCT cannot currently identify leaky blood vessels. To address this need, we have developed a new method called exogenous contrast-enhanced leakage OCT (ExCEL-OCT) which identifies the diffusion of tracer particles around leaky vasculature following injection of a contrast agent. We apply this method to a mouse model of retinal neovascularization and demonstrate high-resolution 3D vascular leakage measurements in vivo for the first time.
Keyphrases
- optical coherence tomography
- contrast enhanced
- diabetic retinopathy
- high resolution
- diffusion weighted
- magnetic resonance imaging
- magnetic resonance
- computed tomography
- age related macular degeneration
- mouse model
- diffusion weighted imaging
- single molecule
- optic nerve
- positron emission tomography
- mass spectrometry
- artificial intelligence
- dual energy
- bioinformatics analysis
- type diabetes
- deep learning
- tandem mass spectrometry
- pet imaging
- vascular endothelial growth factor
- adipose tissue
- metabolic syndrome
- sensitive detection