Synchrotron radiation imaging is a powerful tool to image brain microvasculature

Abstract

Synchrotron radiation (SR) imaging is a powerful experimental tool for micrometer-scale imaging of microcirculation in vivo. This review discusses recent methodological advances and findings from morphological investigations of cerebral vascular networks during several neurovascular pathologies. In particular, it describes recent developments in SR microangiography for real-time assessment of the brain microvasculature under various pathological conditions in small animal models. It also covers studies that employed SR-based phase-contrast imaging to acquire 3D brain images and provide detailed maps of brain vasculature. In addition, a brief introduction of SR technology and current limitations of SR sources are described in this review. In the near future, SR imaging could transform into a common and informative imaging modality to resolve subtle details of cerebrovascular function.

Dl‐3‐N‐butylphthalide promotes angiogenesis and upregulates sonic hedgehog expression after cerebral ischemia in rats

“…35 The spatial resolution of SRA can reach submicrons, approximately 1000 times higher than that of conventional X-ray absorption imaging, and it can be used for high-resolution imaging of the whole middle cerebral artery territory blood supply in living rodents. 53,54 Vessel density is an indicator of microvascular perfusion. Our results showed that NBP treatment increased the perfused vessel density.…”

Three-dimensional visualization of rat brain microvasculature following permanent focal ischaemia by synchrotron radiation

“…It has recently been demonstrated that a synchrotron radiation (SR) X-ray source can provide superior high spectral resolution and small divergence, and involves the delivery of lower doses of radiation. 6 Consequently, this monochromatized X-ray source has the potential to provide a novel imaging perspective for biological and medical applications. [4][5][6][7][8] Owing to the weak absorption rate of soft tissues, conventional X-ray absorption imaging cannot discriminate blood vessels from surrounding structures without the use of contrast agents.…”

“…6 Consequently, this monochromatized X-ray source has the potential to provide a novel imaging perspective for biological and medical applications. [4][5][6][7][8] Owing to the weak absorption rate of soft tissues, conventional X-ray absorption imaging cannot discriminate blood vessels from surrounding structures without the use of contrast agents. 9,10 However, phase contrast imaging (PCI), which utilizes SR technology and X-ray phase shift, is approximately 1000 times more sensitive than conventional X-ray absorption contrast imaging.…”

The ultrafast high-peak power lasers in future biomedical and medical x-ray imaging

“…Functional imaging of small animal models has been accomplished by introduction of various modalities, including micro-PET [16] and micro-SPECT [17], while anatomic imaging of soft tissue has been realized by means of magnetic resonance microscopy [18,19], micro-ultrasound [20,21] and micro-CT [22] with dual X-ray energy [23], with nanoparticles [24,25], and with contrast media [26]. Synchrotron radiation has also been also used but it has been suffering from very high facility cost and limited user base [27]. Recently, multimodality micro-imaging, such as micro-PET/CT, micro-MR/PET, and micro-SPECT/CT, have been used to realize fusion of functional and anatomic information [28][29][30][31].…”