title: Visualization of mouse spinal cord intramedullary arteries using phase- and attenuation-contrast tomographic imaging.
abstract: Many spinal cord circulatory disorders present the substantial involvement of small vessel lesions. The central sulcus arteries supply nutrition to a large part of the spinal cord, and, if not detected early, lesions in the spinal cord will cause irreversible damage to the function of this organ. Thus, early detection of these small vessel lesions could potentially facilitate the effective diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. However, the detection of such small vessels is beyond the capability of current imaging techniques. In this study, an imaging method is proposed and the potential of phase-contrast imaging (PCI)- and attenuation-contrast imaging (ACI)-based synchrotron radiation for high-resolution tomography of intramedullary arteries in mouse spinal cord is validated. The three-dimensional vessel morphology, particularly that of the central sulcus arteries (CSA), detected with these two imaging models was quantitatively analyzed and compared. It was determined that both PCI- and ACI-based synchrotron radiation can be used to visualize the physiological arrangement of the entire intramedullary artery network in the mouse spinal cord in both two dimensions and three dimensions at a high-resolution scale. Additionally, the two-dimensional and three-dimensional vessel morphometric parameter measurements obtained with PCI are similar to the ACI data. Furthermore, PCI allows efficient and direct discrimination of the same branch level of the CSA without contrast agent injection and is expected to provide reliable biological information regarding the intramedullary artery. Compared with ACI, PCI might be a novel imaging method that offers a powerful imaging platform for evaluating pathological changes in small vessels and may also allow better clarification of their role in neurovascular disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug Delivery System, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 20203, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xianzhen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug Delivery System, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 20203, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jiwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tianding
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dongzhe
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine, Research Centre of Sports Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hongbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
keywords: attenuation-contrast imaging; high resolution; intramedullary arteries; phase-contrast imaging