Statistical intensity variation analysis for rapid volumetric imaging of capillary network flux.
We present a novel optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based technique for rapid volumetric imaging of red blood cell (RBC) flux in capillary networks. Previously we reported that OCT can capture individual RBC passage within a capillary, where the OCT intensity signal at a voxel fluctuates when an RBC passes the voxel. Based on this finding, we defined a metric of statistical intensity variation (SIV) and validated that the mean SIV is proportional to the RBC flux [RBC/s] through simulations and measurements. From rapidly scanned volume data, we used Hessian matrix analysis to vectorize a segment path of each capillary and estimate its flux from the mean of the SIVs gathered along the path. Repeating this process led to a 3D flux map of the capillary network. The present technique enabled us to trace the RBC flux changes over hundreds of capillaries with a temporal resolution of ~1 s during functional activation.
Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
Jonghwan
J
Lee
Thorlabs, Inc. Newton, New Jersey 07860, USA.
James Y
JY
Jiang
Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
Weicheng
W
Wu
Department of Electrical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Canada.
Frederic
F
Lesage
Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
David A
DA
Boas
(110.4500) Optical coherence tomography; (170.1470) Blood or tissue constituent monitoring; (170.3880) Medical and biological imaging