Affordable miniaturized speckle contrast diffuse correlation tomography device for depth-sensitive mapping of...

Continuous and longitudinal monitoring of cerebral blood flow (CBF) is critical for understanding brain pathophysiology and guiding interventions. Although rodents are the primary models in neuroscience, existing imaging modalities often fail to provide the optimal combination of low cost, high spatiotemporal resolution, wide head coverage, and sufficient penetration depth for small-animal brain imaging.

Leveraging a clinical speckle contrast diffuse correlation tomography (scDCT) system, we aimed to develop an affordable, user-friendly, fast, and miniaturized scDCT (mini-scDCT) device tailored for depth-sensitive CBF imaging in small rodents.

The mini-scDCT replaces bulky and costly optoelectronic components with compact, low-cost alternatives while preserving imaging performance. It is mounted on a standard stereotaxic apparatus for portability and ease of use. Temporal resolution was improved by hardware synchronization and software optimization. System validation was performed using head-simulating phantoms and rodent models under various pathophysiological conditions.

Compared with the original scDCT, the mini-scDCT achieved a fourfold cost reduction, a fivefold footprint reduction, and eightfold improvement in temporal resolution per source. Validation experiments confirmed the system's depth sensitivity in head-simulating phantoms and its ability to detect both global and regional CBF changes in rodents, with results consistent with physiological expectations and prior studies.

The mini-scDCT offers an affordable, user-friendly, depth-sensitive platform for functional brain imaging in rodent models. Its reduced cost and compact footprint enhance accessibility, whereas the improved spatiotemporal resolution enables diverse applications such as imaging brain functional connectivity in neuroscience research.