Orientation-independent rapid pulsatile flow measurement using dual-angle Doppler OCT

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Medical Imaging
• Microcirculation Research

Background:

• Doppler optical coherence tomography (DOCT) offers valuable blood flow velocity data for microvascular studies.
• Standard DOCT is limited to detecting motion parallel to the imaging beam, necessitating flow direction knowledge for accurate velocity calculation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel technique for calculating absolute volumetric flow using DOCT.
• To enable rapid pulsatile flow measurement from single B-scans without requiring 3-D data or vessel orientation.

Main Methods:

• Absolute volumetric flow is determined by integrating velocity components perpendicular to the B-scan plane.
• Two illumination beams with a defined angular separation are employed, generated via a delay-encoded technique.
• This approach facilitates measurement from single B-scans.

Main Results:

• The developed method successfully calculates absolute volumetric flow.
• It enables rapid pulsatile flow measurement.
• The technique does not require 3-D volumetric data or prior knowledge of blood vessel orientation.

Conclusions:

• This dual-illumination beam DOCT technique provides accurate absolute volumetric flow measurements.
• It significantly advances the investigation of microvascular structure and function by overcoming previous limitations.
• The method offers a more accessible and efficient approach to hemodynamic assessment in microcirculation.