Advanced optical phantom mimicking microvascular and directed blood flow in mouse brain

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Optics
• Neuroimaging
• Preclinical Research

Background:

• Accurate modeling of cerebral hemodynamics is crucial for neuroimaging and preclinical studies.
• Existing models may not fully capture the complexity of blood flow in the mouse brain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel multi-component dynamic optical phantom for simulating mouse brain hemodynamics.
• To validate the phantom's ability to replicate in vivo-like blood flow patterns.

Main Methods:

• Designed a multi-component phantom with static skull mimicry, porous perfusion medium, and flow channels.
• Utilized laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) to characterize phantom hemodynamics.
• Compared phantom LSCI data with transcranial LSCI measurements from mouse brains.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated strong quantitative agreement between phantom and in vivo mouse brain hemodynamics.
• Highlighted the impact of perfusion structures and optical properties on blood flow index.
• Validated the phantom as a reproducible and physiologically relevant model.

Conclusions:

• The developed optical phantom is a robust tool for calibrating neuroimaging technologies.
• The phantom aids in validating new optical diagnostic techniques for cerebral blood flow.
• This platform supports investigations into cerebral blood flow regulation in preclinical settings.