Morphology of atherosclerotic coronary arteries

Margaret N. Holme; Georg Schulz; Hans Deyhle; Simone Elke Hieber; Timm Weitkamp; Felix Beckmann; Julia Herzen; Johannes A. Lobrinus; Fabrizio Montecucco; François Mach; Andreas Zumbuehl; Till Saxer; Bert Müller

doi:10.1117/12.930052

17 October 2012 Morphology of atherosclerotic coronary arteries

Margaret N. Holme, Georg Schulz, Hans Deyhle, Simone Elke Hieber, Timm Weitkamp, Felix Beckmann, Julia Herzen, Johannes A. Lobrinus, Fabrizio Montecucco, François Mach, Andreas Zumbuehl, Till Saxer, Bert Müller

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8506, Developments in X-Ray Tomography VIII; 850609 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.930052
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2012, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Atherosclerosis, the narrowing of vessel diameter and build-up of plaques in coronary arteries, leads to an increase in the shear stresses present, which can be used as a physics-based trigger for targeted drug delivery. In order to develop appropriate nanometer-size containers, one has to know the morphology of the critical stenoses with isotropic micrometer resolution. Micro computed tomography in absorption and phase contrast mode provides the necessary spatial resolution and contrast. The present communication describes the pros and cons of the conventional and synchrotron radiation-based approaches in the visualization of diseased human and murine arteries. Using registered datasets, it also demonstrates that multi-modal imaging, including established histology, is even more powerful. The tomography data were evaluated with respect to cross-section, vessel radius and maximal constriction. The average cross-section of the diseased human artery (2.31 mm²) was almost an order of magnitude larger than the murine one (0.27 mm²), whereas the minimal radius differs only by a factor of two (0.51 mm versus 0.24 mm). The maximal constriction, however, was much larger for the human specimen (85% versus 49%). We could also show that a plastic model used for recent experiments in targeted drug delivery represents a very similar morphology, which is, for example, characterized by a maximal constriction of 82%. The tomography data build a sound basis for flow simulations, which allows for conclusions on shear stress distributions in stenosed blood vessels.

Citation Download Citation

Margaret N. Holme, Georg Schulz, Hans Deyhle, Simone Elke Hieber, Timm Weitkamp, Felix Beckmann, Julia Herzen, Johannes A. Lobrinus, Fabrizio Montecucco, François Mach, Andreas Zumbuehl, Till Saxer, and Bert Müller "Morphology of atherosclerotic coronary arteries", Proc. SPIE 8506, Developments in X-Ray Tomography VIII, 850609 (17 October 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.930052

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available