Cardiologists may be able to see, stop stroke-causing clots with 3D imaging

Researchers have developed a new method of studying blood clots in 3D through optical microscopy. Such understanding of the internal architecture of clots can help cardiologists identify and diagnose clots that may put patients at risk for stroke or heart attack.

The study, led by John W. Weisel of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was published in the Optical Society’s Biomedical Optics Express.

"We can potentially analyze the clot structure from a patient and try to understand why it became such a problem," Wisel et al. wrote. "A more detailed understanding of various clot structures could reveal why pieces of certain clots can break off, leading to potential deadly complications. Eventually, this knowledge might lead to better treatments or ways to prevent clots from causing harm."

The researchers developed a optical clearing method called cCLOT, a non-destructive imaging process allowing observation of structural components up to one millimeter into a clot—a significant improvement compared to the 0.02 millimeter view without optical clearing.

Ideally, with an ability to look more deeply into the clot, researchers can better understand clotting pathologies and formation mechanisms.

"Using the optical clearing technique, we were able to look inside the clot and examine the structure," said Weisel. "We found that during contraction, the red blood cells change from their normal biconcave shape to polyhedral and are very tightly packed against each other, but don't actually change in volume. This is something we didn't know before and that we can now study in more detail."