Nature Biotechnology
21, 803 - 806 (2003)
Published online: 15 June 2003; | doi:10.1038/nbt839
Noninvasive laser-induced photoacoustic tomography for structural and
functional in vivo imaging of the brainXueding Wang1, Yongjiang Pang1, Geng Ku1, Xueyi Xie1, George Stoica2
& Lihong V Wang11
Optical Imaging Laboratory, Department of
Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station,
Texas 77843-3120, USA. 2
Department of Pathobiology, Texas A&M
University, College Station, Texas 77843-3120,
USA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Lihong V Wang lwang@tamu.eduImaging techniques based on optical contrast analysis can be used
to visualize dynamic and functional properties of the nervous system via
optical signals resulting from changes in blood volume, oxygen consumption and
cellular swelling associated with brain physiology and pathology. Here we
report in vivo noninvasive transdermal and transcranial imaging of the
structure and function of rat brains by means of laser-induced photoacoustic
tomography (PAT). The advantage of PAT over pure optical imaging is that it
retains intrinsic optical contrast characteristics while taking advantage of
the diffraction-limited high spatial resolution of ultrasound. We accurately
mapped rat brain structures, with and without lesions, and functional cerebral
hemodynamic changes in cortical blood vessels around the whisker-barrel cortex
in response to whisker stimulation. We also imaged hyperoxia- and
hypoxia-induced cerebral hemodynamic changes. This neuroimaging modality holds
promise for applications in neurophysiology, neuropathology and
neurotherapy.
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