Small animal echocardiographic particle-image velocimetry

当血液被泵送通过身体时，其正常功能的一部分是对血管内壁施加机械力。事实上，需要一定程度的机械力来维持健康的血管-在扰动流动的区域，血液的机械力降低或振荡，这可能导致损伤或导致疾病。对产生这些机械力的血流模式的研究被称为“血液动力学”，许多实验室对改变的血液动力学如何导致动脉粥样硬化和心力衰竭等疾病感兴趣。小鼠和大鼠是模拟心血管疾病遗传和饮食原因的流行选择-这两者都是影响血液动力学如何驱动疾病的因素。不幸的是，研究人员目前缺乏准确，非侵入性和反复评估这些小动物模型的血流动力学的工具。 超声心动图粒子图像测速术（ePIV）是一种有前途的直接血流模式定量方法。在那里，红细胞的运动被超声波记录下来，并被跟踪以识别血流中的速度、方向和力的模式。虽然非常有前途，但目前ePIV的实施仅限于人类的临床使用。超声图像的采集太慢，分辨率太低，无法准确跟踪小动物的红细胞。与VisualSonics（一家为医学研究人员和科学家提供交钥匙临床前成像解决方案的加拿大公司）合作，我们将开发一个经济的平台，使用先进的高频超声和ePIV非侵入性地量化小动物的血液动力学。改进的ePIV过程将被纳入VisualSonics开发的超声系统中，用于学术和工业药物发现、生物医学和医疗领域的销售。 科学和医疗器械行业在加拿大和世界各地。

As blood is pumped through the body, part of its normal function is to exert mechanical forces on the lining of blood vessels. In fact, some degree of mechanical force is required to maintain healthy vessels - in areas of disturbed flow, the mechanical force of the blood is reduced or oscillatory and this can cause damage or lead to disease. The study of the blood flow patterns that produce these mechanical forces is known as "hemodynamics", and many laboratories are interested in how altered hemodynamics contribute to diseases such as atherosclerosis and heart failure. Mice and rats are popular choices for modeling the genetic and dietary causes of cardiovascular disease - both of which are factors that will impact how hemodynamics drive disease. Unfortunately, researchers currently lack the tools to accurately, non-invasively, and repeatedly assess hemodynamics in these small animal models. A promising means of direct blood flow pattern quantification is echocardiographic particle image velocimetry (ePIV). There, the motion of red blood cells is recorded by ultrasound and tracked to identify patterns of speed, direction, and force in the blood flow. While highly promising, current implementations of ePIV are limited to clinical use on humans. The acquisition of ultrasound images is too slow and resolution is too low to enable accurate tracking of red blood cells in small animals. In partnership with VisualSonics, a Canadian company that provides turn-key preclinical imaging solutions to medical researchers and scientists, we will develop an economical platform to non-invasively quantify small-animal hemodynamic forces using advanced, higher-frequency ultrasound and ePIV. The improved ePIV process will be incorporated into ultrasound systems being developed by VisualSonics for sale in the academic and industrial drug discovery, biomedical science, and medical device sectors in Canada and worldwide.