F. Stuart Foster

In Vivo Assessment of Postnatal Murine Ocular Development by Ultrasound Biomicroscopy

Purpose: Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) can noninvasively provide anatomical information about mouse ocular structures. We present the quantitation of postnatal murine eye development using UBM. Materials and methods: The eyes from CD-1 mice were examined at 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of postnatal development using 40 MHz UBM. Patterns of ocular tissue growth including the lens, globe, and anterior chamber were calculated. Results: Postnatal CD-1 lens and globe volumes are consistent with an exponential decay of growth during the first 8 postnatal weeks. Anterior chamber depth increases most sharply in the first 2 postnatal weeks but continues to increase up to the 8th postnatal week. Anterior segment angle was observed to increase from 1 to 4 weeks. Conclusions: UBM can be used to obtain in vivo quantitative measurements of postnatal murine ocular structures. Our ability to obtain ocular anatomical information will facilitate future assessments of mouse models of human disease.

High-Resolution Ultrasound

The VisualSonics Vevo 770 is a high frequency scanner designed to scan small animals. This state-of-the-art scanner provides exquisite high resolution images at ultrasound frequencies of 30-50 MHz. The scanner enables in vivo assessment of anatomical structures and hemodynamic functions in longitudinal studies. It has pulsed-wave Doppler for quantitative blood flow velocity and waveform measurements. The ECG of the animal can be monitored on screen. The M-mode of the scanner monitors tissue motion, which is useful for characterizing blood vessels, heart dynamics and wall thickening. The scanner is equipped with 3D and power Doppler imaging for visualizing blood vessel branching and blood flow patterns spatially and temporally. The scanners Mouse Handling Platform maintains animal core temperature, and monitors the ECG and other physiological measurements.