Imaging of temperature dependent hemodynamics in the rat sciatic nerve by functional photoacoustic microscopy

Background: Vascular hemodynamics is central to the regulation of neuro-metabolism and plays important roles in peripheral nerves diseases and their prevention. However, at present there are only a few techniques capable of directly measuring peripheral nerve vascular hemodynamics. Method: Here, we investigate the use of dark-field functional photoacoustic microscopy (fPAM) for intrinsic visualizing of the relative hemodynamics of the rat sciatic nerve in response to localized temperature modulation (i.e., cooling and rewarming).Results and conclusion: Our main results show that the relative functional total hemoglobin concentration (HbT) is more significantly correlated with localized temperature changes than the hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SO₂) changes in the sciatic nerve. Our study also indicates that the relative HbT changes are better markers of neuronal activation than SO₂ during nerve temperature changes. Our results show that fPAM is a promising candidate for in vivo imaging of peripheral nerve hemodynamics without the use of contrast agents. Additionally, this technique may shed light on the neuroprotective effect of hypothermia on peripheral nerves by visualizing their intrinsic hemodynamics.