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Updated: May 3, 2026
Intravascular Perfusion of Carbon Black Ink Allows Reliable Visualization of Cerebral Vessels
Published on: January 4, 2013
Indian-ink perfusion based method for reconstructing continuous vascular networks in whole mouse brain
Songchao Xue1, Hui Gong1, Tao Jiang1
1Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology-Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan, China ; MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Researchers developed a new method to image the entire mouse brain's vasculature, including arteries, veins, and capillaries. This breakthrough allows simultaneous study of both macro and micro cerebral blood vessels.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Cerebral vasculature studies are crucial for understanding brain function and disease.
- Current imaging methods limit simultaneous analysis of macro and micro cerebral vessels across the entire brain.
- Mammalian whole-brain simultaneous arterial, venous, and capillary imaging remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and demonstrate an effective method for simultaneous imaging of the entire mouse brain's macro and micro vascular networks.
- To overcome limitations of current techniques in studying cerebral circulatory pathways.
- To provide a comprehensive dataset of the whole brain's vascular structure.
Main Methods:
- Combined an improved gelatin-Indian ink vessel perfusion process with Micro-Optical Sectioning Tomography.
- Acquired an integral dataset of the entire cerebral vessels over 17 days.
- Achieved a voxel resolution of 0.35×0.4×2.0 µm³ for whole-brain imaging.
Main Results:
- Successfully imaged the complete vascular network of an entire mouse brain.
- Visualized fine and complex vascular structures in reconstructed slices and whole-brain views.
- Demonstrated continuous vascular tracking in the deep thalamus, showcasing detailed microvasculature.
Conclusions:
- The developed method enables simultaneous study of macro and micro cerebral vasculature in the whole mouse brain.
- This technique offers an effective approach for comprehensive analysis of brain circulatory pathways.
- Provides a valuable tool for advancing research in neurovascular diseases and brain function.
