This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9716, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, and Conference Committee listing.

Over 500,000 women per year in the United States drink during pregnancy, and 1 in 5 of this population also binge drink. As high as 20-50% of live-born children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) present with congenital heart defects including outflow and valvuloseptal anomalies that can be life-threatening. Previously we established a model of PAE (modeling a single binge drinking episode) in the avian embryo and used optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging to assay early-stage cardiac function/structure and late-stage cardiac defects. At early stages, alcohol/ethanol-exposed embryos had smaller cardiac cushions and increased retrograde flow. At late stages, they presented with gross morphological defects in the head and chest wall, and also exhibited smaller or abnormal atrio-ventricular (AV) valves, thinner interventricular septae (IVS), and smaller vessel diameters for the aortic trunk branches. In other animal models, the methyl donor betaine (found naturally in many foods such as wheat bran, quinoa, beets and spinach) ameliorates neurobehavioral deficits associated with PAE but the effects on heart structure are unknown. In our model of PAE, betaine supplementation led to a reduction in gross structural defects and appeared to protect against certain types of cardiac defects such as ventricular septal defects and abnormal AV valvular morphology. Furthermore, vessel diameters, IVS thicknesses and mural AV leaflet volumes were normalized while the septal AV leaflet volume was increased. These findings highlight the importance of betaine and potentially methylation levels in the prevention of PAE-related birth defects which could have significant implications for public health.

Efficient phenotyping of cardiac dynamics in live mouse embryos has significant implications on understanding of early mammalian heart development and congenital cardiac defects. Recent studies established optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a powerful tool for live embryonic heart imaging in various animal models. However, current four-dimensional (4D) OCT imaging of the beating embryonic heart largely relies on gated data acquisition or postacquisition synchronization, which brings errors when cardiac cycles lack perfect periodicity and is time consuming and computationally expensive. Here, we report direct 4D OCT imaging of the structure and function of cardiac dynamics in live mouse embryos achieved by employing a Fourier domain mode-locking swept laser source that enables ~1.5 MHz A-line rate. Through utilizing both forward and backward scans of a resonant mirror, we obtained a ~6.4 kHz frame rate, which allows for a direct volumetric data acquisition speed of ~43 Hz, around 20 times of the early-stage mouse embryonic heart rate. Our experiments were performed on mouse embryos at embryonic day 9.5. Time-resolved 3D cardiodynamics clearly shows the heart structure in motion. We present analysis of cardiac wall movement and its velocity from the primitive atrium and ventricle. Our results suggest that the combination of ultrahigh-speed OCT imaging with live embryo culture could be a useful embryonic heart phenotyping approach for mouse mutants modeling human congenital heart diseases.

We have demonstrated the capability of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) system to image full development of mouse embryonic cardiovascular system. Monitoring morphological changes of mouse embryonic heart occurred in different embryonic stages helps identify structural or functional cardiac anomalies and understand how these anomalies lead to congenital heart diseases (CHD) present at birth. In this study, mouse embryo hearts ranging from E9.5 to E15.5 were prepared and imaged in vitro. A customized spectral domain OCT system was used for imaging, with a central wavelength of 1310nm, spectral bandwidth of ~100nm and imaging speed of 47kHz A-scans/s. Axial resolution of this system was 8.3µm in air, and transverse resolution was 6.2 µm with 5X objective. Key features of mouse embryonic cardiovascular development such as vasculature remodeling into circulatory system, separation of atria and ventricles and emergence of valves could be clearly seen in three-dimensional OCT images. Optical clearing was applied to overcome the penetration limit of OCT system. With high resolution, fast imaging speed, 3D imaging capability, OCT proves to be a promising biomedical imaging modality for developmental biology studies, rivaling histology and micro-CT.

Optical mapping (OM) using fluorescent voltage-sensitive dyes (VSD) to measure membrane potential is currently the most effective method for electrophysiology studies in early embryonic hearts due to its noninvasiveness and large field-of-view. Conventional OM acquires bright-field images, collecting signals that are integrated in depth and projected onto a 2D plane, not capturing the 3D structure of the sample. Early embryonic hearts, especially at looping stages, have a complicated, tubular geometry. Therefore, conventional OM cannot provide a full picture of the electrical conduction circumferentially around the heart, and may result in incomplete and inaccurate measurements. Here, we demonstrate OM of Hamburger and Hamilton stage 14 embryonic quail hearts using a new commercially-available VSD, Fluovolt, and depth sectioning using a custom built light-sheet microscopy system. Axial and lateral resolution of the system is 14µm and 8µm respectively. For OM imaging, the field-of-view was set to 900µm×900µm to cover the entire heart. 2D over time OM image sets at multiple cross-sections through the looping-stage heart were recorded. The shapes of both atrial and ventricular action potentials acquired were consistent with previous reports using conventional VSD (di-4-ANNEPS). With Fluovolt, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is improved significantly by a factor of 2-10 (compared with di-4-ANNEPS) enabling light-sheet OM, which intrinsically has lower SNR due to smaller sampling volumes. Electrophysiologic parameters are rate dependent. Optical pacing was successfully integrated into the system to ensure heart rate consistency. This will also enable accurately gated reconstruction of full four dimensional conduction maps and 3D conduction velocity measurements.

The role of hemodynamics in early heart development is poorly understood. In order to successfully assess the impact of hemodynamics on development, we need to monitor and perturb blood flow, and quantify the resultant effects on morphology. Here, we have utilized cardiac optical pacing to create regurgitant flow in embryonic hearts and OCT to quantify regurgitation percentage and resultant morphology. Embryonic quail in a shell-less culture were optically paced at 3 Hz (well above the intrinsic rate or 1.33-1.67 Hz) on day 2 of development (3-4 weeks human) for 5 minutes. The pacing fatigued the heart and led to a prolonged period (> 1 hour) of increased regurgitant flow. Embryos were kept alive until day 3 (cardiac looping - 4-5 weeks human) or day 8 (4 chambered heart - 8 weeks human) to quantify resultant morphologic changes with OCT. All paced embryos imaged at day 3 displayed cardiac defects. The extent of regurgitant flow immediately after pacing was correlated with cardiac cushion size 24-hours post pacing (p-value < 0.01) with higher regurgitation leading to smaller cushions. Almost all embryos (16/18) surviving to day 8 exhibited congenital heart defects (CHDs) including 11/18 with valve defects, 5/18 with ventricular septal defects and 5/18 with hypoplastic right ventricles. Our data suggests that regurgitant flow leads to smaller cushions, which develop into abnormal valves and septa. Our model produces similar phenotypes as found in our fetal alcohol syndrome and velo-cardio-facial/DiGeorge syndrome models suggesting that hemodynamics plays a role in these syndromes as well. Utilizing OCT and optical pacing to understand hemodynamics in development is an important step towards determining CHD mechanisms and ultimately developing earlier treatments.

Studying embryonic mouse development is important for our understanding of normal human embryogenesis and the underlying causes of congenital defects. Our research focuses on imaging early development in the mouse embryo to specifically understand cardiovascular development using optical coherence tomography (OCT). We have previously developed imaging approaches that combine static embryo culture, OCT imaging and advanced image processing to visualize the whole live mouse embryos and obtain 4D (3D+time) cardiodynamic datasets with cellular resolution. Here, we present the study of using 4D OCT for dynamic imaging of early embryonic heart in live mouse embryos to assess mutant cardiac phenotypes during development, including a cardiac looping defect. Our results indicate that the live 4D OCT imaging approach is an efficient phenotyping tool that can reveal structural and functional cardiac defects at very early stages. Further studies integrating live embryonic cardiodynamic phenotyping with molecular and genetic approaches in mouse mutants will help to elucidate the underlying signaling defects.

A phase variance optical coherence microscope (pvOCM) has been created to visualize blood flow in the vasculature of zebrafish embryos, without using exogenous labels. The pvOCM imaging system has axial and lateral resolutions of 2 μm in tissue, and imaging depth of more than 100 μm. Imaging of 2–5 days post-fertilization zebrafish embryos identified the detailed structures of somites, spinal cord, gut and notochord based on intensity contrast. Visualization of the blood flow in the aorta, veins and intersegmental vessels was achieved with phase variance contrast. The pvOCM vasculature images were confirmed with corresponding fluorescence microscopy of a zebrafish transgene that labels the vasculature with green fluorescent protein. The pvOCM images also revealed functional information of the blood flow activities that is crucial for the study of vascular development.

The mouse is a common model for studying developmental diseases. Different optical techniques have been developed to investigate mouse embryos, but each has its own set of limitations and restrictions. In this study, we imaged the same E9.5 mouse embryo with rotational imaging Optical Coherence Tomography (RI-OCT) and Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM), and compared the two techniques. Results demonstrate that both methods can provide images with micrometer-scale spatial resolution. The RI-OCT technique was developed to increase imaging depth of OCT by performing traditional OCT imaging at multiple sides and co-registering the images. In SPIM, optical sectioning is achieved by illuminating the sample with a sheet of light. In this study, the images acquired from both techniques are compared with each other to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of each technique for embryonic imaging. Since 3D stacks can be obtained by SPIM from different angles by rotating the sample, it might be possible to build a hybrid setup of two imaging modalities to combine the advantages of each technique.

Zebrafish, an auditory specialist among fish, offer analogous auditory structures to vertebrates and is a model for hearing and deafness in vertebrates, including humans. Nevertheless, many questions remain on the basic mechanics of the auditory pathway. Phase-sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography has been proven as valuable technique for functional vibrometric measurements in the murine ear. Such measurements are key to building a complete understanding of auditory mechanics. The application of such techniques in the zebrafish is impeded by the high level of pigmentation, which develops superior to the transverse plane and envelops the auditory system superficially. A zebrafish double mutant for nacre and roy (mitfa-/- ;roya-/- [casper]), which exhibits defects for neural-crest derived melanocytes and iridophores, at all stages of development, is pursued to improve image quality and sensitivity for functional imaging. So far our investigations with the casper mutants have enabled the identification of the specialized hearing organs, fluid-filled canal connecting the ears, and sub-structures of the semicircular canals. In our previous work with wild-type zebrafish, we were only able to identify and observe stimulated vibration of the largest structures, specifically the anterior swim bladder and tripus ossicle, even among small, larval specimen, with fully developed inner ears. In conclusion, this genetic mutant will enable the study of the dynamics of the zebrafish ear from the early larval stages all the way into adulthood.

Infertility is a known major health concern and is estimated to impact ~15% of couples in the U.S. The majority of failed pregnancies occur before or during implantation of the fertilized embryo into the uterus. Understanding the mechanisms regulating development by studying mouse reproductive organs could significantly contribute to an improved understanding of normal development of reproductive organs and developmental causes of infertility in humans. Towards this goal, we report a three-dimensional (3D) imaging study of the developing mouse reproductive organs (ovary, oviduct, and uterus) using optical coherence tomography (OCT). In our study, OCT was used for 3D imaging of reproductive organs without exogenous contrast agents and provides micro-scale spatial resolution. Experiments were conducted in vitro on mouse reproductive organs ranging from the embryonic day 14.5 to adult stages. Structural features of the ovary, oviduct, and uterus are presented. Additionally, a comparison with traditional histological analysis is illustrated. These results provide a basis for a wide range of infertility studies in mouse models. Through integration with traditional genetic and molecular biology approaches, this imaging method can improve understanding of ovary, oviduct, and uterus development and function, serving to further contribute to our understanding of fertility and infertility.

The etiology of craniofacial defects is incompletely understood. The ability to obtain large amounts of gene sequence data from families affected by craniofacial defects is opening up new ways to understand molecular genetic etiological factors. One important link between gene sequence data and clinical relevance is biological research into candidate genes and molecular pathways. We present our recent research using OCT as a nondestructive phenotyping modality of craniofacial morphology in Xenopus embryos, an important animal model for biological research in gene and pathway discovery. We define 2D and 3D scanning protocols for a standardized approach to craniofacial imaging in Xenopus embryos. We define standard views and planar reconstructions for visualizing normal anatomy and landmarks. We compare these views and reconstructions to traditional histopathology using alcian blue staining. In addition to being 3D, nondestructive, and having much faster throughout, OCT can identify craniofacial features that are lost during traditional histopathological preparation. We also identify quantitative morphometric parameters to define normative craniofacial anatomy. We also note that craniofacial and cardiac defects are not infrequently present in the same patient (e.g velocardiofacial syndrome). Given that OCT excels at certain aspects of cardiac imaging in Xenopus embryos, our work highlights the potential of using OCT and Xenopus to study molecular genetic factors that impact both cardiac and craniofacial development.

Yolk lipoprotein constitutes the major source of energy and the materials for synthesizing signaling factors for the development of oocytes and embryos in C. elegans. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) packed in yolk lipoprotein have been recently recognized as critical molecules for fertilization and reproduction.¹ However, the relation between PUFAs and the homeostasis of yolk lipoprotein is not clear. Here we use coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy and two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPE-F) microscopy to examine the transportation of yolk lipoprotein. We demonstrate that CARS microscopy is a more sensitive method than the traditional Nile Red staining method in probing the abnormal accumulation of yolk lipoprotein in the body cavity of C. elegans. It is found that the accumulation of yolk lipoprotein is a time-dependent process. In addition, a negative correlation (r = -0.955) between reproductive aging and abnormal accumulation of yolk lipoprotein is established. We further examine wild-type, fat-1, and fat-2 worms with or without the expression of GFP-tagged yolk lipoprotein (VIT-2-GFP). Our data reveal that PUFAs have a positive effect on the synthesis and endocytosis of yolk lipoprotein, confirming the model proposed by Edmonds et al.²

Optical tomography allows isotropic 3D imaging of embryos. Scanning-laser optical tomography (SLOT) has superior light collecting efficiency than wide-field optical tomography, making it ideal for fluorescence imaging of live embryos. We previously reported an imaging system that combines SLOT with a novel Fourier-multiplexed fluorescence lifetime imaging (FmFLIM) technique named FmFLIM-SLOT. FmFLIM-SLOT performs multiplexed FLIM-FRET readout of multiple FRET sensors in live embryos. Here we report a recent effort on improving the spatial resolution of the FmFLIM-SLOT system in order to image complex biochemical processes in live embryos at the cellular level. Optical tomography has to compromise between resolution and the depth of view. In SLOT, the commonly-used focused Gaussian beam diverges quickly from the focal plane, making it impossible to achieve high resolution imaging in a large volume specimen. We thus introduce Bessel beam laser-scanning tomography, which illuminates the sample with a spatial-light-modulator-generated Bessel beam that has an extended focal depth. The Bessel beam is scanned across the whole specimen. Fluorescence projection images are acquired at equal angular intervals as the sample rotates. Reconstruction artifacts due to annular-rings of the Bessel beam are removed by a modified 3D filtered back projection algorithm. Furthermore, in combination of Fourier-multiplexing fluorescence lifetime imaging (FmFLIM) method, the Bessel FmFLIM-SLOT system is capable of perform 3D lifetime imaging of live embryos at cellular resolution. The system is applied to in-vivo imaging of transgenic Zebrafish embryos. Results prove that Bessel FmFLIM-SLOT is a promising imaging method in development biology research.

We propose the use of a two dimensional Barker-based array in order to improve the performance of the standard time multiplexing super resolution system. The Barker-based array is a 2D generalization of the standard 1D Barker code. It enables achieving a two dimensional super resolution image using only one dimensional scan, by exploiting its unique auto correlation property. A sequence of low resolution images are captured at different lateral positions of the array, and are decoded properly using the same array. In addition, we present the use of a mismatched array for the decoding process. The cross correlation between the Barker-based array and the mismatched array has a perfect peak to sidelobes ratio, making it ideal for the super resolution process. Also, we propose the projection of this array onto the object using a phase-only spatial light modulator. Projecting the array eliminates the need for printing it, mechanically shifting it, and having a direct contact with the object, which is not feasible in many imaging applications. The proposed method is presented analytically, demonstrated via numerical simulation, and validated by laboratory experiments.

One critical barrier to the robust study of cilia-driven fluid flow in developmental biology is a lack of methods for acquiring three-dimensional (3D) images of three vector component (3C) measurements of flow velocities. A 3D3C map of cilia-driven fluid flow quantifies the flow speed along three axes (e.g. three Cartesian vector components v_x, v_y, v_z) at each point in 3D space. 3D3C quantification is important because cilia-driven fluid flow is not amenable to simplifying assumptions (e.g. parabolic flow profile. Such quantification may enable systematically detailed characterization of performance using shear force and power dissipation metrics derived from 3D3C flow velocity fields. We report our OCT-based results in developing methods for the 3D3C quantification of cilia-driven flow fields. First, we used custom scan protocols and reconstruction algorithms to synthesize 3D3C flow velocity fields from 2D2C fields generated using correlation-based methods (directional dynamic light scattering and digital particle image velocimetry). Xenopus results include flow driven by ciliated embryo skin and flow driven by ciliated ependymal cells in developing brain ventricles. Second, we developed a new approach to particle tracking velocimetry that generates 2D2.5C (2.5C: v_x,|v_y|,v_z) velocity fields from single-plane 2D image acquisitions. We demonstrated this particle streak velocimetry method in calibrated flow phantoms and in flow driven by ciliated Xenopus embryo skin. Additionally, we have preliminary results extending particle streak velocimetry to 3D3C in calibrated flow phantoms with ongoing work in Xenopus embryos.

We present a real time all optical super resolution method for exceeding the diffraction limit of an imaging system which has a circular aperture. The resolution improvement is obtained using two fixed circular gratings which are placed in predetermined positions. The circular gratings generate synthetic circular duplications of the aperture, thus they are the proper choice for a circular aperture optical system. The method is applicable for both spatially coherent, and for white light illumination. The improvement is achieved by limiting the object size. The proposed method is presented analytically, demonstrated via numerical simulations, and validated by laboratory experiments.

Mechanical properties of tissues play an important role in biological development. However, the current elasticity-specific imaging techniques are either destructive / invasive, or have a limited spatial and/or temporal resolution. Recently, we introduced Brillouin microscopy imaging as a local non-invasive probe of microscopic viscoelasticity in cells and tissues. In this study, by taking advantage of Brillouin spectroscopy, we imaged the viscoelasticity properties of different compartments of living zebrafish embryos, including yolk-sac, skin, spine and heart. Brillouin and Raman spectra were collected simultaneously at each location using a recently developed Brillouin/Raman microscope.

The cardiac development is a complicated process affected by genetic and environmental factors. Wall shear stress (WSS) and periodic stress (WPS) are the components which have been proved to influence the morphogenesis during early stages of cardiac development. The vessel wall will be deformed by the blood pressure and produce natural elastic force acting on the blood. Because blood flowing in different flow state and show different characteristics of fluid, which influence the calculation of WSS and WPS directly, it is necessary to study the blood flow state. In this paper, we introduce a method to quantify the blood flowing state of early stage chick embryonic heart based on high speed spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT).4D (x,y,z,t) scan was performed on the outflow tract (OFT) of HH18 (~3 days of incubation) chick embryonic heart. By processing the structural image, the geometric parameters were obtained. Blood flow velocity distribution in the OFT were calculated by Doppler OCT method. Hemodynamic parameters were obtained at different times during the cardiac cycle used biofluid mechanics theory, such as Reynolds number and Womersley number.