In vivo lung microvasculature visualized in three dimensions using fiber-optic color Doppler optical coherence tomography
For the first time, the use of fiber-optic color Doppler optical coherence tomography (CDOCT) to map in vivo the three-dimensional (3-D) vascular network of airway segments in human lungs is demonstrated. Visualizing the 3-D vascular network in the lungs may provide new opportunities for detecting and monitoring lung diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. Our CDOCT instrument employs a rotary fiber-optic probe that provides simultaneous two-dimensional (2-D) real-time structural optical coherence tomography (OCT) and CDOCT imaging at frame rates up to 12.5 frames per second. Controlled pullback of the probe allows 3-D vascular mapping ...
