Multimodal optical imaging can reveal changes in microcirculation and tissue oxygenation during skin wound healing

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Faster and better wound healing is a longstanding goal. Blood flow, angiogenesis, and tissue oxygenation are important parameters in evaluating the healing process. Optical microangiography (OMAG) allows 3D imaging of tissue vasculature and can provide quantitative blood flow information down to the capillary level of resolution. Dual wavelength laser speckle imaging (DW-LSI) can measure tissue oxygenation status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cutaneous wound healing of a mouse ear model using a multimodal imaging system that combines OMAG with DWLSI was studied. RESULTS: A complete microvasculature map of the ear in vivo was obtained. The imaging system revealed both hemodynamic and metabolic changes during acute stage wound healing. Blood flow velocity, blood flow direction, as well as changes in concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (ΔHbO) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (ΔHb) were measured and quantified. In addition, capillary recruitment and angiogenesis were visualized during the chronic stage of repairing. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of DW-LSI and OMAG imaging technique may be a powerful tool to visualize and understand microvascular, hemodynamic, and metabolic changes during cutaneous wound healing.