Accurate assessment of cerebral microvascular flow is crucial for understanding brain functioning and neurovascular diseases. Dynamic Light Scattering Optical Coherence Tomography (DLS-OCT) has been used to obtain blood velocity measurements in a large number of microvascular segments, including arterioles, capillaries, and venules in anesthetized mice. However, anesthesia induces large changes in the microvascular blood flow. Imaging awake animals by DLS-OCT is preferable, but very challenging due to motion artifacts. Here, we present the first DLS-OCT measurements of cortical microvascular blood flow in awake mice, made possible by an innovative algorithm based on Vertical Displacement at Inflection (IVD) in velocity distribution.
|