title: Computer-aided quantification of microvascular networks: Application to alterations due to pathological angiogenesis in the hamster.
abstract: Angiogenesis is both a physiological and a pathological process of great complexity, which is difficult to measure objectively and automatically. The hamster cheek pouch (HCP) prepared for intravital-microscopy (IVM) has been used to characterize microvascular functions in many studies and was chosen to investigate microvascular characteristics observed in normal non-infected hamsters as compared to those HCPs parasitized by Trypanosoma cruzi. Images of HCPs captured at IVM were subjected to computer based measurements of angiogenesis and histamine-induced macromolecular (FITC-dextran) leakage with an image segmentation approach that has the capacity to discriminate between fluorescence emitted by macromolecular tracers inside the vasculature and in the extravascular space. We present such an automatic segmentation methodology using known tools from image processing field that, to our knowledge, have not been tested in IVM images. We have compared this methodology with a recently published segmentation strategy based on image intensity thresholding. Our method renders an accurate and robust segmentation of blood vessels for different microvascular scenarios, normal and pathological. Application of the proposed strategy for objective and automatic measurement of angiogenesis detection was explored in detail.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, LNCC/MCTI, Av. Getúlio Vargas 333, Quitandinha, 25651-075 Petrópolis, Brazil. Electronic address: bulant@lncc.br.
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Bulant
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, LNCC/MCTI, Av. Getúlio Vargas 333, Quitandinha, 25651-075 Petrópolis, Brazil. Electronic address: pjblanco@lncc.br.
authors.forename: Pablo J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, LNCC/MCTI, Av. Getúlio Vargas 333, Quitandinha, 25651-075 Petrópolis, Brazil. Electronic address: lmuller@lncc.br.
authors.forename: Lucas O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address: jscharf2@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scharfstein
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address: erik.svensjo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Svensjö
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D002610:Cheek / Q000098:blood supply*; D006224:Cricetinae; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D000069416:Intravital Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D055806:Microvessels / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000472:pathogenicity
keywords: Angiogenesis; Image-processing; Intravital-microscopy; Microcirculation; Plasma leakage; Vascular segmentation