BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Due to a lack of appropriate imaging technology, our understanding of normal mechanisms of heart development and how abnormalities can lead to defects has been hindered by our inability to simultaneously detect anatomic and physiologic changes in small (<2mm) animal organs during development. An imaging tool with high spatial and temporal resolution and a field of view capable of imaging function and morphology simultaneously is critical to understanding the mechanisms of normal and abnormal cardiac development. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) uniquely fits these criteria for investigating early heart development, specifically the transformation from a heart tube to a four-chambered pump. Over the last three years, we have developed OCT technology to visualize the heart in 4D longitudinally. This includes the development of gating techniques, the implementation of an ultrahigh-speed Fourier Domain Mode Locked (FDML) laser, the construction of an environmental chamber and the development of several visualization and measurement methods. The ability to perform valid longitudinal studies of the developing heart will enable new experiments previously not possible. This system offers strong potential for deciphering mechanisms of cardiac looping and the etiology of congenital heart defects.