Abstract
AimsThe 3D geometry of individual vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), which are essential for understanding the mechanical function of blood vessels, are currently not available. This paper introduces a new 3D segmentation algorithm to determine VSMC morphology and orientation.Methods and ResultsA total of 112 VSMCs from six porcine coronary arteries were used in the analysis. A 3D semi-automatic segmentation method was developed to reconstruct individual VSMCs from cell clumps as well as to extract the 3D geometry of VSMCs. A new edge blocking model was introduced to recognize cell boundary while an edge growing was developed for optimal interpolation and edge verification. The proposed methods were designed based on Region of Interest (ROI) selected by user and interactive responses of limited key edges. Enhanced cell boundary features were used to construct the cell’s initial boundary for further edge growing. A unified framework of morphological parameters (dimensions and orientations) was proposed for the 3D volume data. Virtual phantom was designed to validate the tilt angle measurements, while other parameters extracted from 3D segmentations were compared with manual measurements to assess the accuracy of the algorithm. The length, width and thickness of VSMCs were 62.9±14.9μm, 4.6±0.6μm and 6.2±1.8μm (mean±SD). In longitudinal-circumferential plane of blood vessel, VSMCs align off the circumferential direction with two mean angles of -19.4±9.3° and 10.9±4.7°, while an out-of-plane angle (i.e., radial tilt angle) was found to be 8±7.6° with median as 5.7°.ConclusionsA 3D segmentation algorithm was developed to reconstruct individual VSMCs of blood vessel walls based on optical image stacks. The results were validated by a virtual phantom and manual measurement. The obtained 3D geometries can be utilized in mathematical models and leads a better understanding of vascular mechanical properties and function.
Highlights
A total of 112 vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from six porcine coronary arteries were used in the analysis
In longitudinal-circumferential plane of blood vessel, VSMCs align off the circumferential direction with two mean angles of -19.4±9.3° and 10.9±4.7°, while an out-of-plane angle was found to be 8±7.6° with median as 5.7°
A 3D segmentation algorithm was developed to reconstruct individual VSMCs of blood vessel walls based on optical image stacks
Summary
Mechanical stresses induced in the vessel wall are in part influenced by arrangement and shape of individual vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), most of which are believed to be mainly distributed along the circumference of the vascular wall [1,2,3]. There has been significant effort, based on 2D histology images [4], to determine cellular morphology to predict vascular mechanical response. The mechanical models, require accurate geometrical information of cells exposed to the biomechanical microenvironments of vessel wall [5,6]. It is expected that 3D cellular structure can provide more accurate geometries (e.g., 3D dimensions and orientation) for better understanding of vascular biomechanics. A 2D view of cells is limited and complex geometric features can be more accurately represented based on 3D reconstruction of cells. The latest developments of microscopy technology enable noninvasive visualization of VSMCs [9] and provides high-quality image stacks for computational analysis of 3D reconstruction of individual cells
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