In vivo noninvasive visualization of retinal perfusion dysfunction in murine cerebral malaria by camera‐phone laser speckle imaging

Abstract

Cerebral malaria (CM) is a severe complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection associated with impaired cerebral blood flow. Visualization of the eye vasculature, which is embryologically derived from that of the brain, is used clinically to diagnose the syndrome. Here, we introduce camera-phone laser speckle imaging as a new tool for in vivo, noncontact two-dimensional mapping of blood flow dynamics in the experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) murine model of Plasmodium berghei ANKA. In a longitudinal study, we show that the camera-phone imager can detect an overall decrease in the retinal blood-flow-speed (BFS) as ECM develops in P. berghei ANKA infected mice, with no similar change observed in uninfected control mice or mice infected with a non-ECM inducing strain (P. berghei NK65). Furthermore, by analyzing relative alterations in the BFS of individual retinal vessels during the progression of ECM, we illustrate the strength of our imager in identifying different BFS-change heterogeneities in the retinas of ECM and uninfected mice. The technique creates new possibilities for objective investigations into the diagnosis and pathogenesis of CM noninvasively through the eye. The camera-phone laser speckle imager along with measured spatial blood perfusion maps of the retina of a mouse infected with P. berghei ANKA-a fatal ECM model-on different days during the progression of the infection (top, day 3 after infection; middle, day 5 after infection; and bottom, day 7 after infection).

Retinal imaging technologies in cerebral malaria: a systematic review

“…Finally, laser speckle imaging has been used to demonstrate changes to blood flow in mouse retinas using camera-phone technology [ 38 ]. Laser speckle imaging detects blurring in the speckle pattern (noise) created by interference in light emitted from a coherent laser light source.…”

Reliability of handheld laser speckle contrast perfusion imaging demonstrated in psoriasis lesions

“…In 2018, a handheld retinal imager was built and was used to image dilated human subjects [14]. At the same year, a camera-phone laser speckle imager was used to study retinal perfusion dysfunction [15]. Recently, Kong et comparable with that made with an industrial camera [16].…”

Exploration of movement artefacts in handheld laser speckle contrast perfusion imaging

“…Since the conventional mounted LSCI systems are bulky, development of the technology as a handheld modality has gained attention in the past few years [3][4][5][6]. A handheld camera-phone based LSCI has been used to study murine cerebral malaria by visualizing retinal perfusion [7]. In some clinical settings such as neonatal intensive care units, rapid instrumentation and compactness is of paramount interest [8].…”