Label-free photoacoustic microscopy of myocardial sheet architecture

Chi Zhang; Lihong V. Wang; Ya-Jian Cheng; Junjie Chen; Samuel A. Wickline M.D.

doi:10.1117/1.JBO.17.6.060506

6 June 2012 Label-free photoacoustic microscopy of myocardial sheet architecture

Chi Zhang, Lihong V. Wang, Ya-Jian Cheng, Junjie Chen, Samuel A. Wickline M.D.

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Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 17, Issue 6, 060506 (June 2012). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.17.6.060506

Abstract

Cardiac myofibers are organized into sheet architectures, which contribute to up to 40% of the heart wall thickening for ejection of blood for circulation. It is important to delineate the sheet architecture for a better understanding of cardiac mechanisms. However, current sheet imaging technologies are limited by fixation-induced dehydration/deformation and low spatial resolution. Here we implemented high-resolution label-free photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) of the myocardial sheet architecture. With high endogenous optical-absorption contrast originating mainly from cytochrome, myoglobin, and melanin, PAM can image the unfixed, unstained and unsliced heart without introducing deformation artifacts. A fresh blood-free mouse heart was imaged by PAM ex vivo. The three-dimensional branching sheets were clearly identified within 150 µm depth. Various morphological parameters were derived from the PAM image. The sheet thickness (80±10 μm) and the cleavage height (11±1 μm) were derived from an undehydrated heart for the first time. Therefore, PAM has the potential for the functional imaging of sheet architecture in ex vivo perfused and viable hearts.

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Chi Zhang, Lihong V. Wang, Ya-Jian Cheng, Junjie Chen, and Samuel A. Wickline M.D. "Label-free photoacoustic microscopy of myocardial sheet architecture," Journal of Biomedical Optics 17(6), 060506 (6 June 2012). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.17.6.060506

Published: 6 June 2012

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