An effective and economical solution for digitizing and analyzing video recordings of the microcirculation.
OBJECTIVE
To assemble an economical system for analysis of microcirculation movies.


METHODS
Images of cremaster microvessels were recorded onto sVHS video cassettes. These recordings were digitized onto a Macintosh computer using a MiroMotion DC30 plus video compression card and Adobe Premiere software, which permits video rate (25-30 fps) capture of full-sized (768 x 576 PAL, 640 x 480 NTSC) frames. Once captured, images were analyzed using NIH Image software.


RESULTS
Combination of the Macintosh computer, the MiroMotion card, and Adobe Premiere allowed capture of high-resolution images at video rate, with the only limitation to sequence length being available hard-drive space. Captured movies could be directly accessed using the freely available NIH Image software. Use of built-in analysis tools and custom-written macros greatly facilitated rapid, accurate, and reproducible analysis of parameters such as blood flow velocity, leukocyte rolling velocity, and firm adhesion.


CONCLUSIONS
Low-priced hardware and software aimed at the home-video enthusiast can be combined with free image-analysis software to provide a powerful image-analysis solution for study of the microcirculation.
Norman
K E
KE
Cardiovascular Research Group, Division of Clinical Sciences (Northern General Hospital), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. k.norman@sheffield.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002465:Cell Movement; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D007962:Leukocytes; D051379:Mice; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018715:Microscopy, Video / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000098:blood supply; D012984:Software