title: Histomorphometry of the ligaments using a generic-purpose image processing software, a new strategy for semi-automatized measurements.
abstract: Gold chloride technique can be combined with Adobe Photoshop® software to yield a quantitative assessment of the different areas in heterogeneous structures as are ligament. A semi-automatized method based on the sum of two- and three-dimensional morphological criteria upon colorimetric criteria allows the identification and measurement of the area occupied by a structure of interest. It also allows the quantification of color intensity to differentiate structures with similar staining avidity, like vessels and nerves. This computer-assisted, semiquantitative procedure for computerized morphometry is relatively simple to perform. The accuracy, efficiency, and reproducibility of this method based on a commercially available imaging program were considered adequate when tested on the anterior cruciate ligament of the cat. Image normalization by trained observers using a commercially available software package designed for photography, applied to a sample randomly chosen, has provided the means of making reproducible measurements of heterogeneous structures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Universitary Hospital of Fuenlabrada, Camino del Molino 2, Fuenlabrada, 28942, Madrid, Spain. ballesteros.masso@gmail.com
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ballesteros
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bonsfills
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chacón
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Lázaro
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gómez-Barrena
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament; D002415:Cats; D006652:Histological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015588:Observer Variation; D010781:Photography / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*