In vivo spectral domain optical coherence tomography volumetric imaging and spectral Doppler velocimetry of early stage embryonic chicken heart development.

Progress toward understanding embryonic heart development has been hampered by the inability to image embryonic heart structure and simultaneously measure blood flow dynamics in vivo. We have developed a spectral domain optical coherence tomography system for in vivo volumetric imaging of the chicken embryo heart. We have also developed a technique called spectral Doppler velocimetry (SDV) for quantitative measurement of blood flow dynamics. We present in vivo volume images of the embryonic heart from initial tube formation to development of endocardial cushions of the same embryo over several stages of development. SDV measurements reveal the influence of heart tube structure on blood flow dynamics.