Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026
Contrast Imaging in Mouse Embryos Using High-frequency Ultrasound
Published on: March 4, 2015
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound reveals real-time spatial changes in vascular perfusion during early implantation in the
Christopher S Keator1, Jonathan R Lindner, J Todd Belcik
1Division of Reproductive Sciences, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, Oregon 97006-3448, USA. keatorc@ohsu.edu
Objective:
To use contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) to quantify blood flow in the macaque uterus during early pregnancy.
Design:
Prospective nonhuman primate study.
Setting:
Oregon National Primate Research Center.
Animals:
Naturally cycling female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).
Intervention(S):
Female macaques were mated on days 11-14 of the cycle. Females were then imaged by CEU and Doppler ultrasound once every 3 days from day 21 through day 39 of the fertile cycle.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Visualization and quantification of uterine vascular perfusion.
Result(S):
CEU identified the primary placental disc and underlying vessels approximately 2 days earlier than Doppler ultrasound was able to observe endometrial thickening. CEU revealed spatial differences in vascular perfusion between the endometrium, myometrium, and endometrial-myometrial (junctional) zone. Myometrium displayed the highest rate of blood flow (>10 mL/min/g tissue). There was less blood flow in the endometrium and junctional zone (<3 mL/min/g). A brief fall in progesterone was observed during early implantation, which was correlated with reduced blood flow to all three uterine compartments, but did not reduce flow to the placenta.
Conclusions:
CEU provides a sensitive, noninvasive method to assess vascular perfusion of the uterus during embryo implantation in macaques. We propose CEU as a new diagnostic tool to monitor vascular changes associated with early pregnancy in women.
More Related Videos
09:53The Preparation of Chicken Ex Ovo Embryos and Chorioallantoic Membrane Vessels as In Vivo Model for Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging and Microbubble-Mediated Drug Delivery Studies
Published on: February 9, 2021
07:04A Novel Use of Three-dimensional High-frequency Ultrasonography for Early Pregnancy Characterization in the Mouse
Published on: October 24, 2017