title: Online chromatic and scale-space microvessel-tracing analysis for transmitted light optical images.
abstract: Limited contrast in transmitted light optical images from intravital microscopy is problematic for analysing tumour vascular morphology. Moreover, in some cases, changes in vasculature are visible to a human observer but are not easy to quantify. In this paper two online algorithms are presented: scale-space vessel tracing and chromatic decomposition for analysis of the vasculature of SW1222 human colorectal carcinoma xenografts growing in dorsal skin-fold "window" chambers in mice. Transmitted light optical images of tumours were obtained from mice treated with the tumour vascular disrupting agent, combretastatin-A-4-phosphate (CA4P), or saline. The tracing algorithm was validated against hand-traced vessels with accurate results. The measurements extracted with the algorithms confirmed the known effects of CA4P on tumour vascular topology. Furthermore, changes in the chromaticity suggest a deoxygenation of the blood with a recovery to initial levels in CA4P-treated tumours relative to the controls. The algorithms can be freely applied to other studies through the CAIMAN website (CAncer IMage ANalysis: http://www.caiman.org.uk).
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Research Group, Department of Engineering and Design, 2B10 Shawcross Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QT, UK. c.c.reyes-aldasoro@sussex.ac.uk
authors.forename: Constantino Carlos
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Reyes-Aldasoro
authors.forename: Meit A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Björndahl
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akerman
authors.forename: Jamila
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Gillian M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Tozer
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001632:Bibenzyls / Q000737:chemistry; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003116:Color; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008027:Light; D051379:Mice; D008833:Microcirculation; D055806:Microvessels / Q000473:pathology*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001632:Bibenzyls; D010710:Phosphates; C040105:combretastatin; D010100:Oxygen