Measurement of strain and strain rate in embryonic chick heart using spectral domain optical coherence tomography

It is important to measure embryonic heart myocardial wall strain and strain rate for understanding the mechanisms of embryonic heart development. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can provide depth resolved images with high spatial and temporal resolution, which makes it have the potential to reveal the complex myocardial activity in the early stage embryonic heart. We develop a novel method to measure strain in embryonic chick heart based on spectral domain OCT images and subsequent image processing. We perform 4D(x,y,z,t) scanning on the outflow tract (OFT) of chick embryonic hearts in HH18 stage (~3 days of incubation). Only one image sequence acquired at the special position is selected based on the Doppler blood flow information where the probe beam penetrates through the OFT perpendicularly. For each image of the selected sequence, the cross-section of the myocardial wall can be approximated as an annulus. The OFT is segmented with a semi-automatic boundary detection algorithm, thus the area and mean circumference of the annular myocardial wall can be achieved. The myocardial wall thickness was calculated using the area divided by the mean circumference, and then the strain was obtained. The results demonstrate that OCT can be a useful tool to describe the biomechanical characteristics of the embryonic heart.

[1]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  Assessment of strain and strain rate in embryonic chick heart in vivo using tissue Doppler optical coherence tomography , 2011, Physics in medicine and biology.

[2]  Linlin Du,et al.  Changes in strain and blood flow in the outflow tract of chicken embryo hearts observed with spectral domain optical coherence tomography after outflow tract banding , 2013, Photonics West - Biomedical Optics.

[3]  Ashok Ramasubramanian,et al.  On modeling morphogenesis of the looping heart following mechanical perturbations. , 2008, Journal of biomechanical engineering.

[4]  M. DeRuiter,et al.  Basics of Cardiac Development for the Understanding of Congenital Heart Malformations , 2005, Pediatric Research.

[5]  Gabriel Acevedo-Bolton,et al.  Intracardiac fluid forces are an essential epigenetic factor for embryonic cardiogenesis , 2003, Nature.

[6]  Viktor Hamburger,et al.  A series of normal stages in the development of the chick embryo , 1992, Journal of morphology.

[7]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  Changes in wall motion and blood flow in the outflow tract of chick embryonic hearts observed with optical coherence tomography after outflow tract banding and vitelline-vein ligation , 2008, Physics in medicine and biology.

[8]  L A Taber,et al.  Epicardial strains in embryonic chick ventricle at stages 16 through 24. , 1994, Circulation research.

[9]  Adolf Friedrich Fercher,et al.  Optical coherence tomography - development, principles, applications. , 2010, Zeitschrift fur medizinische Physik.

[10]  Kirill V Larin,et al.  Multiple-cardiac-cycle noise reduction in dynamic optical coherence tomography of the embryonic heart and vasculature. , 2009, Optics letters.

[11]  Larry A Taber,et al.  Regional epicardial strain in the embryonic chick heart during the early looping stages. , 2003, Journal of biomechanics.

[12]  D. Reitze,et al.  Noninvasive imaging by optical coherence tomography to monitor retinal degeneration in the mouse. , 2001, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[13]  Peng Li,et al.  Measurement of Strain and Strain Rate in Embryonic Chick Heart In Vivo Using Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[14]  Ruikang K. Wang,et al.  Quantifying blood flow and wall shear stresses in the outflow tract of chick embryonic hearts. , 2011, Computers & structures.

[15]  James G. Fujimoto,et al.  Repeated, noninvasive, high resolution spectral domain optical coherence tomography imaging of zebrafish embryos , 2008, Molecular vision.