Three-dimensional visualization and morphometry of small airways from microfocal X-ray computed tomography

作     者：Sera, T Fujioka, H Yokota, H Makinouchi, A Himeno, R Schroter, RC Tanishita, K 

作者机构：Keio Univ Ctr Life Sci & Toxicol Sch Fundamental Sci & Technol Kohoku Ku Yokohama Kanagawa 2238522 Japan Univ Michigan Dept Biomed Engn Ann Arbor MI 48109 USA RIKEN Inst Phys & Chem Res Adv Computing Ctr Wako Saitama 3510198 Japan RIKEN Inst Phys & Chem Res Integrated V CAD Syst Res Program Wako Saitama 3510198 Japan RIKEN Inst Phys & Chem Res Adv Comp Ctr Wako Saitama 3510198 Japan Univ London Imperial Coll Sci Technol & Med Dept Bioengn London SW7 2AZ England Keio Univ Dept Syst Design Engn Kohoku Ku Yokohama Kanagawa 2238522 Japan 

出 版 物：《JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS》 (生物力学杂志)

年 卷 期：2003年第36卷第11期

页      面：1587-1594页

核心收录：

学科分类：0831[工学-生物医学工程（可授工学、理学、医学学位）] 0710[理学-生物学] 10[医学] 

主　　题：cone-beam microfocal X-ray CT three-dimensional thinning algorithm sodium diatrizoate soft tissue 

摘      要：Physiological morphometry is a critical factor in the flow dynamics in small airways. In this study, we visualized and analyzed the three-dimensional structure of the small airways without dehydration and fixation. We developed a two-step method to visualize small airways in detail by staining the lung tissue with a radiopaque solution and then visualizing the tissue with a cone-beam microfocal X-ray computed tomographic (CT) system. To verify the applicability of this staining and CT imaging (SCT) method, we used the method to visualize small airways in excised rat lungs. By using the SCT method to obtain continuous CT images, three-dimensional branching and merging bronchi ranging from 500 to 150 mum (the airway generation = 8-16) were successfully reconstructed. The morphometry of the small airways (diameter, length, branching angle and gravity angle between the gravity direction and airway vector) was analyzed using the three-dimensional thinning algorithm. The diameter and length exponentially decreased with the airway generation. The asymmetry of the bifurcation decreased with generation and one branching angle decided the other pair branching angle. The SCT method is the first reported method that yields faithful high-resolution images of soft tissue geometry without fixation and the three-dimensional morphometry of small airways is useful for studying the biomechanical dynamics in small airways. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.