207 research outputs found
Testing Foundations of Biological Scaling Theory Using Automated Measurements of Vascular Networks
Scientists have long sought to understand how vascular networks supply blood
and oxygen to cells throughout the body. Recent work focuses on principles that
constrain how vessel size changes through branching generations from the aorta
to capillaries and uses scaling exponents to quantify these changes. Prominent
scaling theories predict that combinations of these exponents explain how
metabolic, growth, and other biological rates vary with body size.
Nevertheless, direct measurements of individual vessel segments have been
limited because existing techniques for measuring vasculature are invasive,
time consuming, and technically difficult. We developed software that extracts
the length, radius, and connectivity of in vivo vessels from contrast-enhanced
3D Magnetic Resonance Angiography. Using data from 20 human subjects, we
calculated scaling exponents by four methods--two derived from local properties
of branching junctions and two from whole-network properties. Although these
methods are often used interchangeably in the literature, we do not find
general agreement between these methods, particularly for vessel lengths.
Measurements for length of vessels also diverge from theoretical values, but
those for radius show stronger agreement. Our results demonstrate that vascular
network models cannot ignore certain complexities of real vascular systems and
indicate the need to discover new principles regarding vessel lengths
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Probing dynamic myocardial microstructure with cardiac magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging
This article is an invited editorial comment on the paper entitled âIn vivo cardiovascular magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging shows evidence of abnormal myocardial laminar orientations and mobility in hypertrophic cardiomyopathyâ by Ferreira et al., and published as Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2014; 16:87
Analytical method to measure three-dimensional strain patterns in the left ventricle from single slice displacement data
Background:
Displacement encoded Cardiovascular MR (CMR) can provide high spatial resolution measurements of three-dimensional (3D) Lagrangian displacement. Spatial gradients of the Lagrangian displacement field are used to measure regional myocardial strain. In general, adjacent parallel slices are needed in order to calculate the spatial gradient in the through-slice direction. This necessitates the acquisition of additional data and prolongs the scan time. The goal of this study is to define an analytic solution that supports the reconstruction of the out-of-plane components of the Lagrangian strain tensor in addition to the in-plane components from a single-slice displacement CMR dataset with high spatio-temporal resolution. The technique assumes incompressibility of the myocardium as a physical constraint.
Results:
The feasibility of the method is demonstrated in a healthy human subject and the results are compared to those of other studies. The proposed method was validated with simulated data and strain estimates from experimentally measured DENSE data, which were compared to the strain calculation from a conventional two-slice acquisition.
Conclusion:
This analytical method reduces the need to acquire data from adjacent slices when calculating regional Lagrangian strains and can effectively reduce the long scan time by a factor of two
Recyclable calix[4]areneâlanthanoid luminescent hybrid materials with color-tuning and color-switching properties
Inorganicâorganic hybrid materials combine the properties of both components providing functionality with a wide range of potential applications. Phase segregation of the inorganic and organic components is a common challenge in these systems, which is overcome here by copolymerizing a metal-free calixarene ionophore and methyl methacrylate. A lanthanoid ion is then added using a swellingâdeswelling procedure. The resulting luminescent hybrid materials can be made to emit any required color, including white light, by loading with an appropriate mixture of lanthanoids. The gradation of the emitted color can also be finely adjusted by changing the excitation wavelength. The polymer monolith can be recycled to emit a different color by swelling with a solution containing a different lanthanoid ion. This methodology is flexible and has the potential to be extended to many different ionophores and polymer matrices
Hemodynamic Effects of Entry and Exit Tear Size in Aortic Dissection Evaluated with In Vitro Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Fluid-Structure Interaction Simulation
Understanding the complex interplay between morphologic and hemodynamic
features in aortic dissection is critical for risk stratification and for the
development of individualized therapy. This work evaluates the effects of entry
and exit tear size on the hemodynamics in type B aortic dissection by comparing
fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations with in vitro 4D-flow magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI). A baseline patient-specific 3D-printed model and two
variants with modified tear size (smaller entry tear, smaller exit tear) were
embedded into a flow- and pressure-controlled setup to perform MRI as well as
12-point catheter-based pressure measurements. The same models defined the wall
and fluid domains for FSI simulations, for which boundary conditions were
matched with measured data. Results showed exceptionally well matched complex
flow patterns between 4D-flow MRI and FSI simulations. Compared to the baseline
model, false lumen flow volume decreased with either a smaller entry tear
(-17.8 and -18.5 %, for FSI simulation and 4D-flow MRI, respectively) or
smaller exit tear (-16.0 and -17.3 %). True to false lumen pressure difference
(initially 11.0 and 7.9 mmHg, for FSI simulation and catheter-based pressure
measurements, respectively) increased with a smaller entry tear (28.9 and 14.6
mmHg), and became negative with a smaller exit tear (-20.6 and -13.2 mmHg).
This work establishes quantitative and qualitative effects of entry or exit
tear size on hemodynamics in aortic dissection, with particularly notable
impact observed on FL pressurization. FSI simulations demonstrate acceptable
qualitative and quantitative agreement with flow imaging, supporting its
deployment in clinical studies.Comment: Judith Zimmermann and Kathrin B\"aumler contributed equall
Increased maximum gradient amplitude improves robustness of spin-echo cardiac diffusion-weighted MRI
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