title: Microvascular contrast enhancement in optical coherence tomography using microbubbles.
abstract: Gas microbubbles (MBs) are investigated as intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) contrast agents. Agar + intralipid scattering tissue phantoms with two embedded microtubes were fabricated to model vascular blood flow. One was filled with human blood, and the other with a mixture of human blood + MB. Swept-source structural and speckle variance (sv) OCT images, as well as speckle decorrelation times, were evaluated under both no-flow and varying flow conditions. Faster decorrelation times and higher structural and svOCT image contrasts were detected in the presence of MB in all experiments. The effects were largest in the svOCT imaging mode, and uniformly diminished with increasing flow velocity. These findings suggest the feasibility of utilizing MB for tissue hemodynamic investigations and for microvasculature contrast enhancement in OCT angiography.
authors.affiliation: Ryerson University, Department of Physics, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3, Canada.
authors.forename: Homa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Assadi
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto, Department of Medical Biophysics, Toronto Medical Discovery Tower, MaRS Centre, 101 College Street, Room 15-701, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada.
authors.forename: Valentin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Demidov
authors.affiliation: Ryerson University, Department of Physics, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3, CanadacSt. Michael Hospital, Keenan Research Centre of the LKS Knowledge Institute, 209 Victoria Street, Toronto M5B 1W8, Canada.
authors.forename: Raffi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karshafian
authors.affiliation: Ryerson University, Department of Physics, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3, CanadacSt. Michael Hospital, Keenan Research Centre of the LKS Knowledge Institute, 209 Victoria Street, Toronto M5B 1W8, Canada.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Douplik
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto, Department of Medical Biophysics, Toronto Medical Discovery Tower, MaRS Centre, 101 College Street, Room 15-701, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, CanadadUniversity Health Network, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University Avenue, Tor.
authors.forename: I Alex
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Vitkin
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D045423:Microbubbles; D055806:Microvessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence