Validation of in vivo Leukocyte Velocity Estimates via Modeling and Simulation

Bigot and co-workers have shown that it is possible to estimate velocities of labelled leukocytes by recording their fluorescent response across a 1D line placed orthogonal to flow in a vessel using fast line-scanning in a confocal microscope. However, as ground truth data cannot be recorded, validation of this method is not possible. In this paper, we address this issue by modelling the imaging process and by simulating virtual xt-scans. This approach yields realistic xt-scans for which velocities and positions of particles are known and therefore the performance of the previously proposed particle tracer can be tested and validated.