Pulmonary arterial morphometry from microfocal X-ray computed tomography. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2001 Dec;281(6):H2747-56
Date
11/16/2001Pubmed ID
11709444DOI
10.1152/ajpheart.2001.281.6.H2747Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0035658460 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 42 CitationsAbstract
The objective of this study was to develop an X-ray computed tomographic method for pulmonary arterial morphometry. The lungs were removed from a rat, and the pulmonary arterial tree was filled with perfluorooctyl bromide to enhance X-ray absorbance. At each of four pulmonary arterial pressures (30, 21, 12, and 5.4 mmHg), the lungs were rotated within the cone of the X-ray beam that was projected from a microfocal X-ray source onto an image intensifier, and 360 images were obtained at 1 degrees increments. The three-dimensional image volumes were reconstructed with isotropic resolution with the use of a cone beam reconstruction algorithm. The luminal diameter and distance from the inlet artery were measured for the main trunk, its immediate branches, and several minor trunks. These data revealed a self-consistent tree structure wherein the portion of the tree downstream from any vessel of a given diameter has a similar structure. Self-consistency allows the entire tree structure to be characterized by measuring the dimensions of only the vessels comprising the main trunk of the tree and its immediate branches. An approach for taking advantage of this property to parameterize the morphometry and distensibility of the pulmonary arterial tree is developed.
Author List
Karau KL, Molthen RC, Dhyani A, Haworth ST, Hanger CC, Roerig DL, Johnson RH, Dawson CAAuthor
Roger H. Johnson PhD Associate Professor in the Biophysics department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsContrast Media
Fluorocarbons
Hydrocarbons, Brominated
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Models, Cardiovascular
Pulmonary Artery
Pulmonary Circulation
Rats
Rats, Inbred Strains
Tomography, X-Ray Computed