In vivo imaging of microvasculature using optical coherence tomography

Summary In vivo imaging technologies drive the development of improved cancer therapies by revealing critical aspects of the complex pathophysiology of solid tumors in small animal models[1]. The abnormal vascular function, which predicts tumor malignant potential and presents broad barriers to effective treatment, has been studied at the subcellular size scale using multiphoton (MP) microscopy [2], and at significantly larger size scales using ultrasound, µCT and µMRI[3–5]. However, limited in vivo imaging approaches exist to study the vascular function at the network level, i.e., with sufficient resolution to discern smaller vessels while maintaining a field of view and penetration depth large enough to reveal interconnectivity and inhomogeneities across the tumor and surrounding tissue. One promising technology operating at this size scale is optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) using Doppler-methods to detect blood flow.