title: Evaluating anesthetic protocols for functional blood flow imaging in the rat eye.
abstract: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the suitability of five different anesthetic protocols (isoflurane, isoflurane–xylazine, pentobarbital, ketamine–xylazine, and ketamine–xylazine–vecuronium) for functional blood flow imaging in the rat eye. Total retinal blood flow was measured at a series of time points using an ultrahigh-speed Doppler OCT system. Additionally, each anesthetic protocol was qualitatively evaluated according to the following criteria: (1) time-stability of blood flow, (2) overall rate of blood flow, (3) ocular immobilization, and (4) simplicity. We observed that different anesthetic protocols produced markedly different blood flows. Different anesthetic protocols also varied with respect to the four evaluated criteria. These findings suggest that the choice of anesthetic protocol should be carefully considered when designing and interpreting functional blood flow studies in the rat eye.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge 02139, United States.
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Moult
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge 02139, United States.
authors.forename: WooJhon
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, 13th Street, Charlestown 02129, United States.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Boas
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge 02139, United StatescMedical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Waehringer Guertel 18, Vienna 1090, Austria.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.affiliation: Joslin Diabetes Center, Research Division, One Joslin Place, Boston 02215, United States.
authors.forename: Allen C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Clermont
authors.affiliation: Joslin Diabetes Center, Research Division, One Joslin Place, Boston 02215, United States.
authors.forename: Edward P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Feener
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge 02139, United States.
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods*; D000777:Anesthetics; D000818:Animals; D005123:Eye / Q000098:blood supply*; D007530:Isoflurane; D007649:Ketamine; D010424:Pentobarbital; D051381:Rats; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects*; D012160:Retina; D014673:Vecuronium Bromide; D014991:Xylazine
chemical_list: D000777:Anesthetics; D014991:Xylazine; D007649:Ketamine; D014673:Vecuronium Bromide; D007530:Isoflurane; D010424:Pentobarbital