Image processing algorithm for edge‐line extraction of lymph vessel wall and measurement of the vessel diameter

Abstract

AbstractThe mechanism of the lymph flow is not fully understood. Since the lymphatic system has no pump apparatus such as a heart in the blood vessel system, it is important to study the relationship between the lymph flow and the contractile movement of its wall. This paper analyzes the rhythmical contraction of the lymphatics of the rat mesentery in vivo. Only the image of the lymph vessel wall was extracted from the microscopic image of the mesentery recorded on video tape. An algorithm was developed which was suited to the continuous measurement of the vessel diameter. In the process of the automatic extraction of the lymph vessel wall, not only its derivative and the direction, but also the running state of the lymph vessel were utilized as information. A circular scanning was employed for the first time as a method which realized an accurate diameter measurement of the vessel that always changed its shape with time. By the proposed image processing system, the periodic movement of the lymph vessel could be analyzed quantitatively.