Approach to quantify two-dimensional strain of chick embryonic heart in early stage based on spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Abstract

The heart undergoes remarkable changes during embryonic development due to genetic programming and epigenetic influences, in which mechanical loads is a key factor. As embryonic research development, an important goal is to develop mathematical models that describe the influence of mechanics on embryonic heart development. However, basic parameters for the modeling are difficult to acquire since the embryonic heart is tiny and beating fast in the early stages. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) technique provides depth-resolved image with high resolution and high acquisition speed in a noninvasive manner. In this paper, we performed 4D[(x,y,z) + t] scan on the outflow tract (OFT) of the chick embryonic heart at stage of HH18(~ 3 days of incubation) in vivo using spectral domain OCT (SDOCT). Parameters such as displacement and geometrical size of the OFT were extracted from the structural images of the SDOCT. Two-dimensional strain vector were solved using strain-displacement relations in curvilinear cylindrical coordinates based on kinetic theory of elasticity. Based on the geometrical size and other initial conditions, two-dimensional elasticity finite element model of the OFT myocardial wall deformation were established and then solved by direct frequency response method. Comparison between experimental data and simulation result shows the utility of the finite element models. Our results demonstrate that mathematical modeling based on parameters provided by SDOCT is a useful approach for studying cardiac development in early stage.