This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 8953, including the Title Page, Copyright Information, Table of Contents, and the Conference Committee listing.

Confocal microscopy has been an invaluable tool for studying cellular or sub-cellular biological processes. The study of vertebrate embryology is based largely on examination of whole embryos and organs. The application of confocal microscopy to immunostained whole mount embryos, combined with three dimensional (3D) image reconstruction technologies, opens new avenues for synthesizing molecular, cellular and anatomical analysis of vertebrate development. Optical cropping of the region of interest enables visualization of structures that are morphologically complex or obscured, and solid surface rendering of fluorescent signal facilitates understanding of 3D structures. We have applied these technologies to whole mount immunostained mouse embryos to visualize developmental morphogenesis of the mammalian inner ear and heart. Using molecular markers of neuron development and transgenic reporters of neural crest cell lineage we have examined development of inner ear neurons that originate from the otic vesicle, along with the supporting glial cells that derive from the neural crest. The image analysis reveals a previously unrecognized coordinated spatial organization between migratory neural crest cells and neurons of the cochleovestibular nerve. The images also enable visualization of early cochlear spiral nerve morphogenesis relative to the developing cochlea, demonstrating a heretofore unknown association of neural crest cells with extending peripheral neurite projections. We performed similar analysis of embryonic hearts in mouse and chick, documenting the distribution of adhesion molecules during septation of the outflow tract and remodeling of aortic arches. Surface rendering of lumen space defines the morphology in a manner similar to resin injection casting and micro-CT.

Developmental biology studies frequently require rapid analysis of the morphology of a large number of embryos (highthroughput analysis). Conventional microscopic analysis is time-consuming and, therefore, is not well suited for highthroughput analysis. OCT facilitates rapid generation of optical sections through small biological objects at high resolutions. However, due to light scattering within biological tissues, the quality of OCT images drops significantly with increasing penetration depth of the light beam. We show that optical clearing of fixed embryonic organs with methyl benzoate can significantly reduce the light scattering and, thereby, improves the usability of OCT for high-throughput analysis of embryonic morphology.

Because of the ease in generating transgenic/gene knock out models and accessibility to early stages of embryogenesis, mouse and rat models have become invaluable to studying the mechanisms that underlie human birth defects. To study precisely how structural birth defects arise, Ultrasound, MRI, microCT, Optical Projection Tomography (OPT), Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and histological methods have all been used for imaging mouse/rat embryos. However, of these methods, only OCT enables live, functional imaging with high spatial and temporal resolution. However, one of the major limitations of conventional OCT imaging is the light depth penetration, which limits acquisition of structural information from the whole embryo. Here we introduce new imaging scheme by OCT imaging from different sides of the embryos that extend the depth penetration of OCT to permit high-resolution imaging of 3D and 4D volumes.

Experimental and clinical data indicate that hemodynamic forces within the embryo provide critical biomechanical cues for cardiovascular morphogenesis, growth, and remodeling and that perturbed flow is a major etiology of congenital heart disease. However, embryonic flow-growth relationships are largely qualitative and poorly defined. In this work, we provide a quantitative analysis of in vivo flow and growth trends in the chick embryo using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to acquire simultaneous velocity and structural data of the right vitelline artery continuously over a ten hour period beginning at stage 16 (hour 54). We obtained 3D vessel volumes (15 μm lateral, 4.3 μm axial resolutions, 6 μm slice spacing) at 60 minute intervals, taking a B-scan time series totaling one cardiac cycle at each slice. Embryos were maintained at a constant 37°C and 60% humidity during the entire acquisition period through an inhouse built chamber. The 3D vessel lumen geometries were reconstructed manually to assess growth. Blood flow velocity was computed from the central B-scan using red blood cell particle image velocimetry. The use of extended OCT imaging as a non-invasive method for continuous and simultaneous flow and structural data can enhance our understanding of the biomechanical regulation of critical events in morphogenesis. Data acquired will be useful to validate predictive finite-element 3D growth models.

Consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can be severely detrimental to the development of the brain in fetuses. This study explores the usage of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to the study the effects of maternal consumption of ethanol on brain development in mouse fetuses. On gestational day 14.5, fetuses were collected and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde. A swept-source OCT (SSOCT) system was used to acquire 3D images of the brain of ethanol-exposed and control fetuses. The volume of right and left brain ventricles were measured and used to compare between ethanol-exposed and control fetuses. A total of 5 fetuses were used for each of the two groups. The average volumes of the right and left ventricles were measured to be 0.35 and 0.15 mm³ for ethanol-exposed and control fetuses, respectively. The results demonstrated that there is an alcohol-induced developmental delay in mouse fetal brains.

Embryo cryopreservation is an increasingly common technique that allows patients to undergo multiple cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF) without being subjected to repeated ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval. There are two types of cryopreservation commonly used in IVF clinics today: slow freezing and vitrification. Because vitrification has been shown to result in higher rates of embryo survival post-thaw compared to slow freezing, it is rapidly gaining popularity in clinics worldwide. However, several studies have shown that vitrification can still cause damage to embryos in the form of DNA fragmentation, altered mitochondrial distribution and changes in transcriptional activity, all of which are impossible to assess noninvasively. In this paper we demonstrate a new method of quantitatively and noninvasively assessing changes in embryo appearance due to vitrification. Using full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-OCT), we show that vitrification causes striking changes in the appearance of the cytoplasm that are not visible under conventional brightfield microscopy. Using an automated algorithm that extracts parameters to describe these changes, we show that these parameters can also predict viability in embryos that have undergone vitrification. An automated, noninvasive assessment of embryo viability after vitrification and thawing could have significant clinical impact: allowing clinicians to more accurately choose the most viable embryos to transfer back to patients could reduce the average number of IVF cycles that patients must undergo to achieve pregnancy.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a three-dimensional, non-invasive optical imaging technique that relies on low-coherence interferometry. OCT has the capability of imaging 2 – 3 mm into tissue, which enables imaging of deeper structures within the embryo with a relatively high spatial resolution (2 - 15μm). Within the past decade, OCT has been increasingly used as a live imaging tool for embryonic cardiovascular research in several animal models. Research in our lab has recently shown that OCT can be used in combination with embryo culture for the visualization of early mammalian cardiovascular development (E7.5 – E10.0). Here, we demonstrate that OCT can be used for the guided microinjection of gold-silica nanoshell suspension into the cardiovascular system in live embryos without deleterious effect. This approach shows a promising application for the OCT guided delivery of contrast agents, viral vectors, therapeutic or pharmacological agents, signaling molecules or dyes to specific organ systems or tissues in live embryos and demonstrates a great potential for gold-silica nanoshells as a contrast agent in embryonic studies.

A non-contact infrared imaging-based measurement technique is applied to quantify the enzymatic reaction of glucokinase. The method is implemented by a long-wave (8-12 [μm]) infrared microbolometer imaging array and a germanium-based infrared optical vision system adjusted to the size of a small biological sample. The enzymatic reaction is carried out by the glucokinase enzyme, which is representative of the internal dynamics of the cell. Such reactions produce a spontaneous exothermal release of energy detected by the infrared imaging system as a non-contact measurement technique. It is shown by stoichiometry computations and infrared thermal resolution metrics that the infrared imaging system can detect the energy release at the [mK] range. This allows to quantify the spontaneity of the enzymatic reaction in a three dimensional (surface and time) single and noncontact real- time measurement. The camera is characterized for disclosing its sensibility, and the fixed pattern noise is compensated by a two point calibration method. On the other hand, the glucokinase enzyme is isolated from Pyrococcus furiosus. Therefore, the experiment is carried out by manual injection with graduated micropipettes using 40 [μl] of glucokinase at the surface of the substrate contained in an eppendorf tube. For recording, the infrared camera is adjusted in-focus at 25.4 [mm] from the superficial level of the substrate. The obtained values of energy release are 139 ± 22 [mK] at room temperature and 274 ± 22 [mK] for a bath temperature of 334 [K].

The reflectance confocal microscope has made translational progress in dermatology. 0.5 micrometer lateral resolution, 0.75mm field-of-view and excellent temporal resolution at ~15 frames/second serve the VivaScope well in the clinic, but it may be overlooked in basic research. This work reviews high spatiotemporal confocal microscopy and presents images acquired of various samples: zebra fish embryo where melanocytes with excellent contrast overly the spinal column, chicken embryo, where myocardium is seen moving at 15 frames/ second, calcium spikes in dendrites (fluorescence mode) just beyond the temporal resolution, and human skin where blood cells race through the artereovenous microvasculature. For an introduction to confocal microscopy, see: http://dangareau.net.s69818.gridserver.com/science/confocal-microscopy