Automation process for morphometric analysis of volumetric CT data from pulmonary vasculature in rats

Abstract

With advances in medical imaging scanners, it has become commonplace to generate large multidimensional datasets. These datasets require tools for a rapid, thorough analysis. To address this need, we have developed an automated algorithm for morphometric analysis incorporating A Visualization Workshop computational and image processing libraries for three-dimensional segmentation, vascular tree generation and structural hierarchical ordering with a two-stage numeric optimization procedure for estimating vessel diameters. We combine this new technique with our mathematical models of pulmonary vascular morphology to quantify structural and functional attributes of lung arterial trees. Our physiological studies require repeated measurements of vascular structure to determine differences in vessel biomechanical properties between animal models of pulmonary disease. Automation provides many advantages including significantly improved speed and minimized operator interaction and biasing. The results are validated by comparison with previously published rat pulmonary arterial micro-CT data analysis techniques, in which vessels were manually mapped and measured using intense operator intervention.

Mitigation of radiation induced pulmonary vascular injury by delayed treatment with captopril

“…Pulmonary arterial distensibility (PAD) was measured using previously published methods 21,24 . Briefly, isotropic CT volumes were used to map and measure the main pulmonary trunk at each intravascular pressure.…”

“…For further details, see Molthen et al 21 Pulmonary arterial distensibility (PAD) was measured using previously published methods. 21,24 Briefly, isotropic CT volumes were used to map and measure the main pulmonary trunk at each intravascular pressure. The data were fit, using an unconstrained multivariable non-linear optimization function 'fminunc' in the Matlab optimization toolbox (MathWorks, Natick, Massachusetts, USA), to a biomechanical model of the pulmonary arterial tree, which incorporates PAD.…”

MicroCT analysis of vascular morphometry: a comparison of right lung lobes in the SUGEN/hypoxic rat model of pulmonary arterial hypertension

“…MicroCT has traditionally been involved in the analysis of bones and teeth; 8 , 9 however, its application to soft tissue, including lung vasculature, 6 , 10 – 12 has been increasingly expanding. Arterial branching and total lung vasculature have been evaluated using microCT; 11 , 12 however, this is the first to evaluate the contribution of the individual lung lobes to the overall vascular remodeling in the right lung of the SU/hyp rat model of PAH. Our findings indicate that not only does the SU/hyp treatment affect individual right lung lobes when compared to the control (control versus SU/hyp), but there also may exist vascular developmental differences between the lobes.…”

Model-Based Vasculature Extraction From Optical Fluorescence Cryomicrotome Images

“…The goal of this approach is supported by a number of recent advances in medical image acquisition and analysis that have enabled the direct, and in some cases automated, extraction of whole-organ 3-D vascular structures (Lorigo et al [9], Aylward et al [10], Chen et al [11], Krissian et al [12], Fetita et al [13], Wischgoll et al [14], [15], Wu et al [16], Shingrani et al [17]). More recently, high-resolution images have facilitated the visualization of whole-organ models of vascular networks and both segmentation and reconstruction from 3-D volumes using both computed microtomography (micro-CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (Marxen et al [18], Burton et al [19], Lee et al.…”