Doppler optical cardiogram gated 2D color flow imaging at 1000 fps and 4D in vivo visualization of embryonic heart at 45 fps on a swept source OCT system

We report a Doppler optical cardiogram gating technique for increasing the effective frame rate of Doppler optical coherence tomography (DOCT) when imaging periodic motion as found in the cardiovascular system of embryos. This was accomplished with a Thorlabs swept-source DOCT system that simultaneously acquired and displayed structural and Doppler images at 12 frames per second (fps). The gating technique allowed for ultra-high speed visualization of the blood flow pattern in the developing hearts of African clawed frog embryos (Xenopus laevis) at up to 1000 fps. In addition, four-dimensional (three spatial dimensions + temporal) Doppler imaging at 45 fps was demonstrated using this gating technique, producing detailed visualization of the complex cardiac motion and hemodynamics in a beating heart.