Intrinsic, widefield optical imaging of hemodynamics in rodent models of Alzheimer's disease and neurological injury

Christian Crouzet; Thinh Phan; Robert H Wilson; Teo Jeon Shin; Bernard Choi

doi:10.1117/1.NPh.10.2.020601

Intrinsic, widefield optical imaging of hemodynamics in rodent models of Alzheimer's disease and neurological injury

Neurophotonics. 2023 Apr;10(2):020601. doi: 10.1117/1.NPh.10.2.020601. Epub 2023 May 2.

Authors

Christian Crouzet¹, Thinh Phan^{1

2}, Robert H Wilson^{1

3}, Teo Jeon Shin^{1

4}, Bernard Choi^{1

2

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ University of California, Irvine, Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, Irvine, California, United States.
² University of California, Irvine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Irvine, California, United States.
³ University of California, Irvine, Department of Medicine, Irvine, California, United States.
⁴ Seoul National University, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁵ University of California, Irvine, Department of Surgery, Irvine, California, United States.
⁶ University of California, Irvine, Edwards Lifesciences Foundation Cardiovascular Innovation Research Center, California, United States.

Abstract

The complex cerebrovascular network is critical to controlling local cerebral blood flow (CBF) and maintaining brain homeostasis. Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neurological injury can result in impaired CBF regulation, blood-brain barrier breakdown, neurovascular dysregulation, and ultimately impaired brain homeostasis. Measuring cortical hemodynamic changes in rodents can help elucidate the complex physiological dynamics that occur in AD and neurological injury. Widefield optical imaging approaches can measure hemodynamic information, such as CBF and oxygenation. These measurements can be performed over fields of view that range from millimeters to centimeters and probe up to the first few millimeters of rodent brain tissue. We discuss the principles and applications of three widefield optical imaging approaches that can measure cerebral hemodynamics: (1) optical intrinsic signal imaging, (2) laser speckle imaging, and (3) spatial frequency domain imaging. Future work in advancing widefield optical imaging approaches and employing multimodal instrumentation can enrich hemodynamic information content and help elucidate cerebrovascular mechanisms that lead to the development of therapeutic agents for AD and neurological injury.

Keywords: laser speckle contrast imaging; metabolism; optical intrinsic signal imaging; spatial frequency domain imaging; spectroscopy; widefield optical imaging.

Publication types

Review