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Optical Microangiography Based on Optical Coherence Tomography

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Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

Proper homeostasis regulation of in vivo biological systems requires microvascular blood perfusion, which is the process of delivering blood into the tissue's capillary beds. Abnormal tissue vascularization has been associated with various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders, wounds, and inflammation. Understanding the changes in the vascular network or microangiography will have an important role in determining the causes and developing potential treatments for these diseases. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive method for imaging three-dimensional biological tissues with high resolution (~10 µm) and without requiring the use of contrast agents. In this chapter we review several techniques for using OCT to determine blood flow velocities and the vessel morphology (optical microangiography). Different techniques will be discussed with a brief explanation of their limitations. Also, methods for quantifying these images are presented, as well as the depiction of several applications.

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Acknowledgements

Some of the results presented in this chapter were made possible with research grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (R01HL093140, R01HL093140S, R01EB009682, and R01DC01201), the American Heart Association (0855733G), and the W.H. Coulter Foundation Translational Research Partnership Program. Dr Wang is a recipient of Research to Prevent Blindness Innovative Research Award. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of grant-giving bodies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Roberto Reif & Ruikang K. Wang

  2. Department of Automation Engineering, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Hebei, Peoples’ Republic of China

    Ruikang K. Wang

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  1. Roberto Reif
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  2. Ruikang K. Wang
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Correspondence to Ruikang K. Wang .

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  1. Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University Vienna, General Hospital Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Wolfgang Drexler

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    James G. Fujimoto

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Reif, R., Wang, R.K. (2015). Optical Microangiography Based on Optical Coherence Tomography. In: Drexler, W., Fujimoto, J. (eds) Optical Coherence Tomography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06419-2_45

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