Synchrotron radiation imaging is a powerful tool to image brain microvasculature.

Synchrotron radiation (SR) imaging is a powerful experimental tool for micrometer-scale imaging of microcirculation in vivo. This review discusses recent methodological advances and findings from morphological investigations of cerebral vascular networks during several neurovascular pathologies. In particular, it describes recent developments in SR microangiography for real-time assessment of the brain microvasculature under various pathological conditions in small animal models. It also covers studies that employed SR-based phase-contrast imaging to acquire 3D brain images and provide detailed maps of brain vasculature. In addition, a brief introduction of SR technology and current limitations of SR sources are described in this review. In the near future, SR imaging could transform into a common and informative imaging modality to resolve subtle details of cerebrovascular function.

[1]  Honglan Xie,et al.  Microbubble-based synchrotron radiation phase contrast imaging: basic study and angiography applications , 2011, Physics in medicine and biology.

[2]  Anders Brahme,et al.  Development of phase-contrast X-ray imaging techniques and potential medical applications. , 2008, Physica medica : PM : an international journal devoted to the applications of physics to medicine and biology : official journal of the Italian Association of Biomedical Physics.

[3]  Ke-min Chen,et al.  Anti-VEGFR2-conjugated PLGA microspheres as an x-ray phase contrast agent for assessing the VEGFR2 expression , 2012, Physics in medicine and biology.

[4]  H. Riesemeier,et al.  Going beyond histology. Synchrotron micro-computed tomography as a methodology for biological tissue characterization: from tissue morphology to individual cells , 2009, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[5]  Stephan Fiedler,et al.  Synchrotron-based intravenous cerebral angiography in a small animal model , 2007, Physics in medicine and biology.

[6]  Guo-Yuan Yang,et al.  A Novel Intravital Method to Evaluate Cerebral Vasospasm in Rat Models of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Study with Synchrotron Radiation Angiography , 2012, PloS one.

[7]  Kazuyuki Hyodo,et al.  The minimum coronary artery diameter in which coronary spasm can be identified by synchrotron radiation coronary angiography. , 2008, European journal of radiology.

[8]  T. Sakurai,et al.  Loss of CO 2-induced Distensibility in Cerebral Arteries with Chronic Hypertension or Vasospasm after Subarachnoid Hemorrhage , 2008 .

[9]  B. R. Pinzer,et al.  Imaging brain amyloid deposition using grating-based differential phase contrast tomography , 2012, NeuroImage.

[10]  Jianqi Sun,et al.  Microvascular imaging using synchrotron radiation. , 2010, Journal of synchrotron radiation.

[11]  H M Hertz,et al.  X-ray phase-contrast CO2 angiography for sub-10 μm vessel imaging , 2012, Physics in medicine and biology.

[12]  T. Xiao,et al.  Optimizing suture middle cerebral artery occlusion model in C57BL/6 mice circumvents posterior communicating artery dysplasia. , 2012, Journal of neurotrauma.

[13]  Dean M. Connor,et al.  Computed tomography of amyloid plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease using diffraction enhanced imaging , 2009, NeuroImage.

[14]  Jianqi Sun,et al.  Lung cancer and angiogenesis imaging using synchrotron radiation , 2010, Physics in medicine and biology.

[15]  Dilation of perforating arteries in rat brain in response to systemic hypotension is more sensitive and pronounced than that of pial arterioles: simultaneous visualization of perforating and cortical vessels by in-vivo microangiography. , 2009, Microvascular research.

[16]  R. Meuli,et al.  Synchrotron radiation in radiology: novel X-ray sources , 2003, European Radiology.

[17]  T. Sakurai,et al.  Quantification of distension in rat cerebral perforating arteries , 2006, Neuroreport.

[18]  K. Hirata,et al.  Mouse Coronary Angiograph Using Synchrotron Radiation Microangiography , 2002 .

[19]  N. Yagi,et al.  Synchrotron Radiation Imaging for Advancing Our Understanding of Cardiovascular Function , 2013, Circulation research.

[20]  Sylvain Miraux,et al.  Gadolinium-enhanced small-animal TOF magnetic resonance angiography , 2004, Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine.

[21]  F. Ling,et al.  A novel haemodynamic cerebral aneurysm model of rats with normal blood pressure , 2012, Journal of Clinical Neuroscience.

[22]  S. Fiedler,et al.  Dual energy CT at the synchrotron: a piglet model for neurovascular research. , 2011, European journal of radiology.

[23]  G. Eppel,et al.  SYNCHROTRON‐BASED ANGIOGRAPHY FOR INVESTIGATION OF THE REGULATION OF VASOMOTOR FUNCTION IN THE MICROCIRCULATION IN VIVO , 2009, Clinical and experimental pharmacology & physiology.

[24]  À. Rovira,et al.  Impaired cerebrovascular reactivity as a risk marker for first-ever lacunar infarction: A case-control study. , 1999, Stroke.

[25]  H M Hertz,et al.  X-ray phase contrast for CO2 microangiography , 2012, Physics in medicine and biology.

[26]  Keiji Umetani,et al.  Development of synchrotron radiation x-ray intravital microscopy for in vivo imaging of rat heart vascular function , 2011, 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

[27]  慶司 木戸口.  In vivo X-ray angiography in the mouse brain using synchrotron radiation , 2006 .

[28]  K. Kangawa,et al.  Imaging of the pulmonary circulation in the closed-chest rat using synchrotron radiation microangiography. , 2007, Journal of applied physiology.

[29]  K K W Siu,et al.  Interface-specific x-ray phase retrieval tomography of complex biological organs , 2011, Physics in medicine and biology.

[30]  K. Kangawa,et al.  Role of Rho-kinase signaling and endothelial dysfunction in modulating blood flow distribution in pulmonary hypertension. , 2011, Journal of applied physiology.

[31]  Hong-bin Lu,et al.  Visualization of microvasculature by x-ray in-line phase contrast imaging in rat spinal cord , 2012, Physics in medicine and biology.

[32]  M. Heilmann,et al.  Comparison of Digital Subtraction Angiography, Micro-Computed Tomography Angiography and Magnetic Resonance Angiography in the Assessment of the Cerebrovascular System in Live Mice , 2012, Clinical Neuroradiology.

[33]  G. Eppel,et al.  Contrast angiography of the rat renal microcirculation in vivo using synchrotron radiation. , 2009, American journal of physiology. Renal physiology.

[34]  A Bravin,et al.  Performance of the K-edge digital subtraction angiography imaging system at the European synchrotron radiation facility. , 2005, Radiation protection dosimetry.

[35]  T. Sakurai,et al.  Carotid artery occlusion and collateral circulation in C57Black/6J mice detected by synchrotron radiation microangiography. , 2006, The Kobe journal of medical sciences.

[36]  R. Macdonald,et al.  Cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage: the emerging revolution , 2007, Nature Clinical Practice Neurology.

[37]  JunHuang,et al.  Netrin-1 Hyperexpression in Mouse Brain Promotes Angiogenesis and Long-Term Neurological Recovery After Transient Focal Ischemia , 2012 .

[38]  Paola Coan,et al.  X-ray phase-contrast imaging: from pre-clinical applications towards clinics , 2013, Physics in medicine and biology.

[39]  Stefan Fiedler,et al.  Synchrotron-based intra-venous K-edge digital subtraction angiography in a pig model: a feasibility study. , 2010, European journal of radiology.

[40]  J. Duan,et al.  High-Resolution Micro-CT for Morphologic and Quantitative Assessment of the Sinusoid in Human Cavernous Hemangioma of the Liver , 2013, PloS one.

[41]  K. Fukushima,et al.  Visualization of intracerebral arteries by synchrotron radiation microangiography. , 2007, AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology.

[42]  K Hyodo,et al.  Digitized cerebral synchrotron radiation angiography: quantitative evaluation of the canine circle of Willis and its large and small branches. , 1999, AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology.

[43]  Yuqi Ren,et al.  Effect of Suture Properties on Stability of Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Evaluated by Synchrotron Radiation Angiography , 2012, Stroke.

[44]  D C Harrison,et al.  Transvenous coronary angiography in humans using synchrotron radiation. , 1986, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[45]  Tiqiao Xiao,et al.  Detection of microvasculature in rat hind limb using synchrotron radiation. , 2010, The Journal of surgical research.

[46]  A Bravin,et al.  High-resolution brain tumor visualization using three-dimensional x-ray phase contrast tomography , 2007, Physics in medicine and biology.

[47]  K. Umetani,et al.  Simultaneous observation of superficial cortical and intracerebral microvessels in vivo during reperfusion after transient forebrain ischemia in rats using synchrotron radiation , 2007, Brain Research.

[48]  K. Kangawa,et al.  Exogenous ghrelin improves blood flow distribution in pulmonary hypertension—assessed using synchrotron radiation microangiography , 2011, Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology.