School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, College of ICT Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Division of Craniofacial Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
J Biophotonics. 2020 May;13(5):e201960225. doi: 10.1002/jbio.201960225. Epub 2020 Mar 1.
The embryo phenotyping of genetic murine model is invaluable when investigating functions of genes underlying embryonic development and birth defect. Although traditional imaging technologies such as ultrasound are very useful for evaluating phenotype of murine embryos, the use of advanced techniques for phenotyping is desirable to obtain more information from genetic research. This letter tests the feasibility of optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a high-throughput phenotyping tool for murine embryos. Three-dimensional OCT imaging is performed for live and cleared mouse embryos in the late developmental stage (embryonic day 17.5). By using a dynamic focusing method and OCT angiography (OCTA) approach, our OCT imaging of the embryo exhibits rapid and clean visualization of organ structures deeper than 5 mm and complex microvasculature of perfused blood vessels in the murine embryonic body. This demonstration suggests that OCT imaging can be useful for comprehensively assessing embryo anatomy and angiography of genetically engineered mice.
当研究胚胎发育和出生缺陷相关基因的功能时，对遗传鼠模型进行胚胎表型分析是非常宝贵的。虽然传统的成像技术（如超声）在评估鼠胚胎表型方面非常有用，但使用高级技术进行表型分析是可取的，以从遗传研究中获得更多信息。这封信测试了光学相干断层扫描（OCT）作为一种高通量鼠胚胎表型分析工具的可行性。对晚期发育阶段（胚胎第 17.5 天）的活鼠和透明鼠胚胎进行了三维 OCT 成像。通过使用动态聚焦方法和 OCT 血管造影术（OCTA）方法，我们对胚胎的 OCT 成像能够快速、清晰地显示 5mm 深度以上的器官结构和鼠胚胎体内灌注血管的复杂微血管。这一结果表明，OCT 成像可用于全面评估基因工程鼠的胚胎解剖和血管造影。
