Mapping of cerebro-vascular blood perfusion in mice with skin and skull intact by Optical Micro-AngioGraphy at 1.3μm wavelength

Optical micro-angiography (OMAG) was developed to achieve volumetric imaging of the microstructures and dynamic cerebrovascular blood perfusion in mice with capillary level resolution and high signal-to-background ratio. In this paper, we present a high-speed and high-sensitivity OMAG imaging system by using an InGaAs line scan camera and broadband light source at 1.3 mu m wavelength for enhanced imaging depth in tissue. We show that high quality imaging of cerebrovascular blood perfusion down to capillary level resolution with the intact skin and cranium are obtained in vivo with OMAG, without the interference from the blood perfusion in the overlaying skin. The results demonstrate the potential of 1.3 mu m OMAG for high-speed and high-sensitivity imaging of blood perfusion in human and small animal studies. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.