Patent ID: 8190244

Claim:
A computer-implemented method to acquire in vivo images of an embryonic heart in an ex ovo embryo, comprising: generating a series of image control signals to control an optical coherence tomography (OCT) apparatus to acquire, in vivo, a series of images of the embryonic heart at specified points in time during a series of cardiac cycles of the embryonic heart; controlling the OCT apparatus to acquire the series of images based, at least in part, on the series of image control signals; directly measuring, in three dimensions, from the series of images, one or more of, a ventricular volume of the embryonic heart, a myocardial wall thickness of the embryonic heart, an ejection fraction of the embryonic heart, and a stroke volume of the embryonic heart, where at least one of, the ventricular volume, the myocardial wall thickness, the ejection fraction, and the stroke volume is based on measurements from at least two different cardiac cycles from the embryonic heart, and where the OCT apparatus is configured to measure coherently gated back-reflected light at a resolution between 2-15 μm and with a penetration depth between 1-2 mm in tissue in the embryonic heart.