Open AccessDynamic contrast optical coherence tomography images transit time and quantifies microvascular plasma volume and flow in the retina and choriocapillaris
Author(s) -
Conrad W. Merkle,
Conor Leahy,
Vivek J. Srinivasan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
biomedical optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.362
H-Index - 86
ISSN - 2156-7085
DOI - 10.1364/boe.7.004289
Subject(s) - optical coherence tomography , laminar flow , blood flow , retinal , hemodynamics , biomedical engineering , tomography , tracer , contrast (vision) , optics , materials science , medicine , ophthalmology , physics , radiology , thermodynamics , nuclear physics
Despite the prevalence of optical imaging techniques to measure hemodynamics in large retinal vessels, quantitative measurements of retinal capillary and choroidal hemodynamics have traditionally been challenging. Here, a new imaging technique called dynamic contrast optical coherence tomography (DyC-OCT) is applied in the rat eye to study microvascular blood flow in individual retinal and choroidal layers in vivo . DyC-OCT is based on imaging the transit of an intravascular tracer dynamically as it passes through the field-of-view. Hemodynamic parameters can be determined through quantitative analysis of tracer kinetics. In addition to enabling depth-resolved transit time, volume, and flow measurements, the injected tracer also enhances OCT angiograms and enables clear visualization of the choriocapillaris, particularly when combined with a post-processing method for vessel enhancement. DyC-OCT complements conventional OCT angiography through quantification of tracer dynamics, similar to fluorescence angiography, but with the important added benefit of laminar resolution.