TY - JOUR

T1 - Integration of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system into an examination incubator to facilitate in vivo imaging of cardiovascular development in higher vertebrate embryos under stable physiological conditions

AU - Happel, Christoph M.

AU - Thrane, Lars

AU - Thommes, Jan

AU - Männer, Jörg

AU - Yelbuz, T. Mesud

N1 - Funding information: We thank K. Reccius, at Hannover Medical School, for her technical assistance in embryo preparations for shell-less culture. This study was supported by research grants from German Research Foundation (DFG; YE 42/3-1) and German Foundation for Cardiac Research (DSHF; F/19/07) to Prof. Dr. med. T.M. Yelbuz and internal funding from the Dept. of Pediatric Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine at Hannover Medical School.

PY - 2011/10/20

Y1 - 2011/10/20

N2 - High-resolution in vivo imaging of higher vertebrate embryos over short or long time periods under constant physiological conditions is a technically challenging task for researchers working on cardiovascular development. In chick embryos, for example, various studies have shown that without appropriate maintenance of temperature, as one of the main environmental factors, the embryonic heart rate drops rapidly and often results in an increase in regurgitant flow. Hemodynamic parameters are critical stimuli for cardiovascular development that, for a correct evaluation of their developmental significance, should be documented under physiological conditions. However, previous studies were mostly carried out outside of an incubator or under suboptimal environmental conditions. Here we present, to the best of our knowledge, the first detailed description of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system integrated into an examination incubator to facilitate real-time in vivo imaging of cardiovascular development under physiological environmental conditions. We demonstrate the suitability of this OCT examination incubator unit for use in cardiovascular development studies by examples of proof of principle experiments. We, furthermore, point out the need for use of examination incubators for physiological OCT examinations by documenting the effects of room climate (22. °C) on the performance of the cardiovascular system of chick embryos (HH-stages 16/17). Upon exposure to room climate, chick embryos showed a fast drop in the heart rate and striking changes in the cardiac contraction behaviour and the blood flow through the vitelline circulation. We have documented these changes for the first time by M-mode OCT and Doppler M-mode OCT.

AB - High-resolution in vivo imaging of higher vertebrate embryos over short or long time periods under constant physiological conditions is a technically challenging task for researchers working on cardiovascular development. In chick embryos, for example, various studies have shown that without appropriate maintenance of temperature, as one of the main environmental factors, the embryonic heart rate drops rapidly and often results in an increase in regurgitant flow. Hemodynamic parameters are critical stimuli for cardiovascular development that, for a correct evaluation of their developmental significance, should be documented under physiological conditions. However, previous studies were mostly carried out outside of an incubator or under suboptimal environmental conditions. Here we present, to the best of our knowledge, the first detailed description of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system integrated into an examination incubator to facilitate real-time in vivo imaging of cardiovascular development under physiological environmental conditions. We demonstrate the suitability of this OCT examination incubator unit for use in cardiovascular development studies by examples of proof of principle experiments. We, furthermore, point out the need for use of examination incubators for physiological OCT examinations by documenting the effects of room climate (22. °C) on the performance of the cardiovascular system of chick embryos (HH-stages 16/17). Upon exposure to room climate, chick embryos showed a fast drop in the heart rate and striking changes in the cardiac contraction behaviour and the blood flow through the vitelline circulation. We have documented these changes for the first time by M-mode OCT and Doppler M-mode OCT.

KW - Cardiovascular development

KW - Examination incubator

KW - Optical coherence tomography

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80052538821&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.aanat.2011.04.006

DO - 10.1016/j.aanat.2011.04.006

M3 - Article

C2 - 21641190

AN - SCOPUS:80052538821

VL - 193

SP - 425

EP - 435

JO - Annals of anatomy

JF - Annals of anatomy

SN - 0940-9602

IS - 5

ER -