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Optimized Protocol for Mapping Histological Data onto 3D Image Reconstructions
Author(s) -
DeLeon Valerie,
Smith Timothy
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.868.2
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , anatomy , histology , 3d reconstruction , distortion (music) , affine transformation , skull , biomedical engineering , computer science , materials science , biology , computer vision , pathology , mathematics , medicine , geometry , paleontology , amplifier , computer network , bandwidth (computing)
Technological advances have made 3D volumetric and surface imaging accessible to a broad range of researchers. In our research, we have integrated morphology reconstructed from µCT scans with tissue/cellular information gleaned from histology of the same specimen. With this approach, we have visualized bone modeling by mapping fields of bone deposition and resorption; localized distribution of different nasal mucosa types; and reconstructed soft tissues in the context of 3D bony anatomy. Our protocol addresses many of the problems inherent in superimposing histological and µCT image data. Following µCT imaging of the specimen, contiguous histological sections are mounted, stained, and photographed. The µCT image volume is digitally “resliced” in the same plane as the histology. Distortion of the specimen during processing and sectioning is addressed by aligning elements in sequential iterations. Thicker, cortical bone is characterized by minimal distortion limited to the vector of the microtome blade. Thinner bony elements (e.g., nasal turbinals) show a combination of affine and non‐affine deformations relative to the surrounding skull, which may be corrected independently for each element. Tooth crowns also show characteristic distortions. Following this series of iterative alignments, information from histological sections may be transferred to the 3D volume. Illustrations of this iterative alignment and resulting reconstructions are shown in the tree shrew ( Tupaia glis ) and several primate species. Funding: NSF BCS‐1231717, BCS‐1231350, BCS‐0959438