December Image Contest

Description: This image of a mouse brain reveals the tree-like structure of the animal's blood vessels. It was obtained without surgery, simply by placing an ultrasound probe on the rodent's head. Here we can see the path of millions of microbubbles injected into the bloodstream, circulating from the largest arteries to the smallest arterioles. Thus we can create images of blood flow in unprecedented detail! The technique is harmless, as the microbubbles are rapidly eliminated by the lungs. It could eventually lead to a better understanding of the origin and progression of brain diseases such as Alzheimer's. (Dynamic Ultrasound Localization Microscopy)