Development of fiber-based optical control system for in vivo blood vessel mechanics study

Abstract

Cerebrovascular disorder plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many brain diseases. Measuring and analyzing cerebrovascular mechanisms in living animals is a challenging area of research. In cerebrovascular studies, optical control systems are very useful for biomechanical analysis. Also, Intravital-microscopy is a powerful alternative to in vivo brain imaging. For this reason, we have combined fiber-based intravital-microscopy and laser control system. The optical system can perform fluorescence imaging by inserting directly into the brain and simultaneously stimulating the blood vessels optically. The optical stimulus of the system can stimulate the cells with a resolution of 1μm and a maximum intensity of 93 mW/mm2, which is sufficient intensity and resolution to be applied to visualize the blood vessel microscopic mechanical environment and control the mechanical responses and adaptations of blood vessel walls. In addition, the optical system is not limited by the optical depth due to the characteristics of the fiber-based imaging system, so that blood vessel mechanism changes in deep brain can be measured with high resolution. The developed system will be applied to visualize the vascular microstructure between neurons, astrocytes and vascular cells, and to simultaneously control changes in vessel diameter and blood flow velocity in living mice.