Evaluation of hemodynamic parameters in blood vessels of the posterior segment of the rabbit eye using color Doppler ultrasound.

BELOTTI EM; DÍAZ PU; NOTARO US; SALINAS F; MATILLER V; REY F; ORTEGA HH; SALVETTI NR

Mar del Plata

Congreso; Reunión conjunta AACyTAL, SAIC SAFE SAB SAP; 2019

Dopplerultrasound (US) evaluation is a complementary technique to B-mode scanning andallows a non-invasive study of local vascularization, identifying alterationsof blood vessels diameter and their path, and determining quantitativeparameters of blood flow and vascular resistance. Evaluation of the effects ofpharmacological and surgical interventions in the ocular circulation isimportant in many retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, age-relatedmacular degeneration, glaucomatous optic neuropathy and retinal vascularocclusion. The aim of this work is to report the development of the Doppler UStechnique for evaluation of hemodynamic parameters in rabbit eyes. Twenty New Zealandadult male rabbits from CMC (ICIVET Litoral) were used. After systemic and ocularlocal anesthesia, the animals were subjected to US by a  6-14 MHz linear probe  (L14-6P, Mindray) added to a colorDoppler equipment (Z6 Vet, Mindray, China), carefullysupporting the transducer on the eyeball. Color and spectralDoppler settings were optimized for evaluation of blood velocity (peak systolicvelocity, end-diastolic velocity, and mean velocity), the resistance index(RI), and the pulsatility index (PI) of the central retinal artery and the centralretinal vein. Blood velocity, RI and PI were obtained for each eye of everyrabbit on the study.Doppler evaluation allowing us todetermine and characterize hemodynamic parameters of the vessels of theposterior segment of rabbit eyes. There have been few previous reports of usingDoppler ultrasound to measure blood velocity in the retinal vessels inlaboratory animals due to the small diameters and low flow rates of thesevessels. This technique provides a different and non-invasive tool forthe evaluation of hemodynamic parameters in ophthalmological preclinicalstudies.