title: In vivo label-free measurement of lymph flow velocity and volumetric flow rates using Doppler optical coherence tomography.
abstract: Direct in vivo imaging of lymph flow is key to understanding lymphatic system function in normal and disease states. Optical microscopy techniques provide the resolution required for these measurements, but existing optical techniques for measuring lymph flow require complex protocols and provide limited temporal resolution. Here, we describe a Doppler optical coherence tomography platform that allows direct, label-free quantification of lymph velocity and volumetric flow rates. We overcome the challenge of very low scattering by employing a Doppler algorithm that operates on low signal-to-noise measurements. We show that this technique can measure lymph velocity at sufficiently high temporal resolution to resolve the dynamic pulsatile flow in collecting lymphatic vessels.
authors.affiliation: Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.|Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Cedric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blatter
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.|Edwin L. Steele Laboratories for Tumor Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Eelco F J
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Meijer
authors.affiliation: Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.|Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.|Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Ahhyun S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.|Edwin L. Steele Laboratories for Tumor Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.|Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Brett E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Bouma
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.|Edwin L. Steele Laboratories for Tumor Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Padera
authors.affiliation: Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.|Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Vakoc
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D004431:Ear, External; D005260:Female; D035002:Lower Extremity; D008196:Lymph / Q000502:physiology*; D008208:Lymphatic System / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008819:Mice, Nude; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*