Deep and Complex Vascular Anatomy in the Rat Brain Described With Ultrasound Localization Microscopy in 3D

Abstract

Ultrasound Localization Microscopy (ULM) enables imaging microvessels in the brain with a resolution of a few tens of micrometers in-vivo. The planar architecture of arterioles and venules was revealed with a 2D ultrasound scanner in the cortex of the rat brain. However, deeper in the brain, where the vascularization becomes tri-dimensional, 2D imaging remains limited by the elevation projection. In this study, volumetric ultrasound imaging was performed in the craniotomized rat brain to yield 3D ULM in vivo within 7.5 min of acquisition with a commercial system. For instance, it highlighted the thalamus or the circle of Willis with small vessels down to $21 ~\mu \text{m}$ . Microbubbles tracking also gave access to the 3D velocity vector of blood flow allowing to distinguish flow directions. Volumetric ULM resolved deep complex tri-dimensional vascular structures and was compared to 2D ULM. It is a safe, simple and repeatable system to image wide field of view in the brain.