| The overall objective of this dissertation was to design and integrate an Optical Coherence Doppler Tomography (OCDT) system with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system to simultaneously image flow. OCDT system is capable of producing a simultaneous structural and velocity information of a sample with a very high spatial resolution (around 50 μm) albeit limited overall scanning ranges, whereas MRI allows a cross sectional imaging of structure as well as velocity in a comparatively lower spatial resolution (around 150 μm). In this study, the spatially resolved velocity profile generated by MR-compatible OCDT in a simultaneous measurement with MRI was co-registered to the velocity image generated by MRI for a quantitative comparison and validation of its performance. Using a gravity-driven laminar-flow phantom model with known flow rates, 3 separate main experiments were conducted, where quantitative flow measurements were first made with MRI and MR-compatible OCDT separately, validating their own respective capabilities compared to the predicted values of laminar flow model, and then the final quantitative flow measurements in a simultaneous application of MRI and the MR-compatible OCDT were carried out to validate the performance of the MR-compatible OCDT system. The results showed highly correlated OCDT flow velocity profile in comparison to that of MRI validating its MR-compatibility. |
