Very High-Resolution Imaging of Post-Mortem Human Cardiac Tissue Using X-Ray Phase Contrast Tomography

I. Mirea (1) , F. Varray (2) , Y.-M. Zhu (1) , L. Fanton (3) , M. Langer (4, 5, 6) , P.-S. Jouk (7) , G. Michalowicz (7) , Y. Usson (7) , I. E. Magnin (1)

1 MOTIVATE - Imagerie et modélisation Vasculaires, Thoraciques et Cérébrales
2 Imagerie Ultrasonore
3 Images et Modèles
4 ESRF - European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
5 CREATIS - Centre de Recherche en Acquisition et Traitement de l'Image pour la Santé
6 Imagerie Tomographique et Radiothérapie
7 TIMC-IMAG - Techniques de l'Ingénierie Médicale et de la Complexité - Informatique, Mathématiques et Applications, Grenoble - UMR 5525

This paper investigates the 3D microscopic structure of ex-vivo human cardiac muscle. Usual 3D imaging techniques such as DMRI or CT do not achieve the required resolution to visualise cardio-myocytes, therefore we employ X-ray phase contrast micro-CT, developed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Nine tissue samples from the left ventricle and septum were prepared and imaged at an isotropic resolution of 3.5 μm, which is sufficient to visualise cardio-myocytes. The obtained volumes are compared with 2D histological examinations, which serve as a basis for interpreting the 3D X-ray phase-contrast results. Our experiments show that 3D X-ray phase-contrast micro-CT is a viable technique for investigating the 3D arrangement of myocytes ex-vivo at a microscopic level, allowing a better understanding of the 3D cardiac tissue architecture.

Domaines: Imagerie

I. Mirea, F. Varray, Y.-M. Zhu, L. Fanton, M. Langer, et al.. Very High-Resolution Imaging of Post-Mortem Human Cardiac Tissue Using X-Ray Phase Contrast Tomography. 8th International Conference, FIMH 2015, Jun 2015, Maastricht, Netherlands. pp.172-179, ⟨10.1007/978-3-319-20309-6_20⟩. ⟨hal-01207827⟩