In-vivo assessment of radiation-induced cerebrovascular damage in mice by hybrid optoacoustic-ultrasound bio-microscopy (Conference Presentation)

Radiation-induced brain damage could arise as a side effect in radiotherapy of brain tumors. We present evidence of radiation-induced damage to the skull and brain vasculature of mice as revealed by transcranial optoacoustic and ultrasound bio-microscopy in-vivo. The three-dimensional nature of the acquired optoacoustic images combined with a clear anatomical reference of the pulse-echo ultrasound data allowed clear differentiation of the skull vasculature from the superficial brain vasculature. The irradiation was selectively applied to one brain hemisphere and the effects of the ionizing radiation were evident without introduction of extrinsic labeling, owing to the strong haemoglobin contrast of optoacoustics.