title: Computer-assisted measurement of vessel shape from 3T magnetic resonance angiography of mouse brain.
abstract: Blood vessel morphology (vessel radius, branching pattern, and tortuosity) is altered by a multitude of diseases. Although murine models of human pathology are important to the investigation of many diseases, there are few publications that address quantitative measurements of murine vascular morphology. This report outlines methods of imaging mice in vivo using magnetic resonance angiograms obtained on a clinical 3T unit, of defining mouse vasculature from these images, and of quantifying measures of vessel shape. We provide examples of both healthy and diseased vasculature and illustrate how the approach can be used to assess pathology both visually and quantitatively. The method is amenable to the assessment of many diseases in both human beings and mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and CASILab, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 219 Wing E, CB# 7062, NC 27599, USA. bullitt@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bullitt
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Aylward
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Van Dyke
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000098:blood supply / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D016545:Choroid Plexus Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013382:Subtraction Technique