Optical Doppler tomography for noninvasive imaging of in vivo blood flow

We report the development of an optical technique for noninvasive in vivo imaging of tissue structure and blood flow dynamics with high spatial resolution (2-15 mu m) in biological systems. The technique is based on coherence optical Doppler tomography (ODT), which combines Doppler velocimetry with optical coherence tomography to measure blood now velocity at discrete spatial locations. The exceptionally high resolution of ODT allows noninvasive in vivo imaging of both blood microcirculation and tissue structures surrounding the vessel, which has significance for biomedical research and clinical applications. Tomographic velocity imaging of in viva blood flow in a rat mesentery is demonstrated.