Three-dimensional imaging of spatio-temporal dynamics of small blood capillary network in the cortex based on optical coherence tomography: A review

Abstract

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) has emerged as an advanced in vivo imaging modality, which is widely used for the clinic ophthalmology and neuroscience research in the rodent brain cortex among others. Based on the high numerical aperture (NA) probing lens and the motion-corrected algorithms, a high-resolution imaging technique called OCT micro-angiography is applied to resolve the small blood capillary vessels ranging from 5μm to 10μm in diameter. As OCT-based techniques are recently evolving further from the structural imaging of capillaries toward spatio-temporal dynamic imaging of blood flow in capillaries, here we present a review on the latest techniques for the dynamic flow imaging. Studies on capillary blood flow using these techniques will help us better understand the roles of capillary blood flow for normal functioning of the brain as well as how it malfunctions in diseases.