| Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) are the most common forms of congenital malformation in newborns. Among all types of CHDs, a large portion is contributed by malformation of endocardial cushion malformation during early heart development. Although the etiology of endocardial cushion malformation is unclear, it is a result of interactions between genetic and environmental factors has been confirmed. There is hypothesis indicating that malformation of endocardial cushion is caused by altered shear stress conditions where in cushion forming area the shear stress is supposed to be high compare with other area in congenital heart. However it is difficult to justify due to lack of in vivo imaging modality that is able to monitor structure and hemodynamic conditions simultaneously and over long time period. To address this problem, we present an optical coherence microscopy based particle image velocimetry system. This system is capable of invasively imaging biological sample structures at micrometer resolution and providing velocity information at the same time. With this imaging set up we successfully assessed velocity profile in a microfluidic system with simultaneous structure details demonstration of the microfluidic channel. Both flow measurement and structural information were verified using conventional microscopy. As a result, OCM-based PIV imaging modality not only makes it feasible to study in detail the process of congenital heart remodeling in response to environmental alterations, but also provides new options for measuring fluid flow in live tissue. |
