Noninvasive, in vivo imaging of blood-oxygenation dynamics within the mouse brain using photoacoustic microscopy

Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) has been used to obtain high-resolution, noninvasive images of the in vivo mouse brain. In this work, we exploit the high-depth and temporal resolutions of PAM to noninvasively image the blood-oxygenation dynamics of multiple cortex vessels in the mouse brain simultaneously in response to controlled hypoxic and hyperoxic challenges. These results confirm the ability of PAM to track blood oxygenation in the mouse brain, a critical aspect of imaging brain activity through the hemodynamic response. (C) 2009 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [DOI: 10.1117/1.3095799]