Abstract #2973

Perfusion of Multiple Embryos in Mouse Pregnancy - Visualization & Characterization using ASL MRI

Reut Avni¹, Tal Raz¹, Joel Garbow², Michal Neeman¹

¹Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; ²Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United States

The aim of this study is to develop a non-invasive MRI tool to characterize the pattern of blood flow in the (crowded) uterine horns in mice. Blood flow along the uterine horns was measured using Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) MRI. This study demonstrates that ASL methodology is able to measure the entire blood input to both the placenta and the embryo, and is sensitive to the embryo location along the uterine horn, thus enabling the non-invasive visualization of the vascular remodeling process that exists during pregnancy in a mouse uterus.