Photoacoustic imaging of lymphatic pumping

Alex Forbrich; Andrew Heinmiller; Roger J. Zemp

doi:10.1117/1.JBO.22.10.106003

11 October 2017 Photoacoustic imaging of lymphatic pumping

Alex Forbrich, Andrew Heinmiller, Roger J. Zemp

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Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 22, Issue 10, 106003 (October 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.22.10.106003

Abstract

The lymphatic system is responsible for fluid homeostasis and immune cell trafficking and has been implicated in several diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and cancer metastasis. Despite its importance, the lack of suitable in vivo imaging techniques has hampered our understanding of the lymphatic system. This is, in part, due to the limited contrast of lymphatic fluids and structures. Photoacoustic imaging, in combination with optically absorbing dyes or nanoparticles, has great potential for noninvasively visualizing the lymphatic vessels deep in tissues. Multispectral photoacoustic imaging is capable of separating the components; however, the slow wavelength switching speed of most laser systems is inadequate for imaging lymphatic pumping without motion artifacts being introduced into the processed images. We investigate two approaches for visualizing lymphatic processes in vivo. First, single-wavelength differential photoacoustic imaging is used to visualize lymphatic pumping in the hindlimb of a mouse in real time. Second, a fast-switching multiwavelength photoacoustic imaging system was used to assess the propulsion profile of dyes through the lymphatics in real time. These approaches may have profound impacts in noninvasively characterizing and investigating the lymphatic system.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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Alex Forbrich, Andrew Heinmiller, and Roger J. Zemp "Photoacoustic imaging of lymphatic pumping," Journal of Biomedical Optics 22(10), 106003 (11 October 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.22.10.106003

Received: 9 May 2017; Accepted: 15 August 2017; Published: 11 October 2017

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