基于立体视觉的虹膜膨隆三维信息的实验方法探索

目的设计一种基于立体视觉技术的虹膜组织膨隆变形研究的实验系统,并在系统保持虹膜环状形态结构和组织活性条件下,通过测量计算出虹膜组织在模拟前后房压强差变化的情况下发生膨隆变形的三维信息。方法利用模拟瞳孔阻滞和虹膜膨隆的实验设备获得兔虹膜组织随前后房压强差增加而膨隆变彤的二维图像,再利用立体视觉技术计算虹膜组织发生膨隆变形的三维信息。结果本研究得到模拟前后房压强差分别为100Pa、200Pa时虹膜膨隆的二维曲线和三维信息。结果证实随着前后房压强差增大,虹膜发生膨隆变形。虹膜膨隆的二维曲线的切线和虹膜径向之间的夹角越大,房角越小,此时发生闭角型青光眼的可能性越大。     

虹膜膨隆变形及房角开放度的实验研究

目的对原有实验系统进行改进,并对兔眼虹膜在不同前后房压强差产生的膨隆变形及房角开放度进行实验研究。方法在保持虹膜环状形态结构和组织活性特征的前提下,搭建模拟完全瞳孔阻滞和虹膜膨隆的实验平台,获得兔眼虹膜随前后房压强差变化时的膨隆变形二维图像;再利用立体视觉技术得到膨隆变形的三维信息,并计算出膨隆曲线上虹膜根部所在点的切线斜率和虹膜膨隆最高点的曲率半径,由此对房角开放度进行衡量。结果当前后房压强差在50～200Pa之间时,虹膜根部斜率在0.29～0.55范围内逐渐增大,曲率半径在16.13～6.67的范围内迅速减小,房角在30°～15°的范围内变化;而当前后房压强差增大到200～600Pa之间时,虹膜根部斜率在0.55～0.76的范围内逐渐增大,曲率半径在6.67～4.25的范围内逐渐减小,房角在15°～10°的范围内缓慢减小。结论本文提出了一种可行的定量研究虹膜膨隆变形及房角开放度的理论和实验方法,研究结果与临床观察及研究相一致。     

一种虹膜膨隆形态提取与建模方法的研究

为研究虹膜膨隆形态与瞳孔阻滞的关系,提出了一种根据裂隙图像提取虹膜膨隆形态的方法。通过灰度变换、二值化处理、角度校正及曲线拟合等方法对图像进行处理。建立了不同压强差下无晶体抬升时虹膜膨隆形态二维曲线及三维曲面模型;以及相同压强差下晶体抬升高度不同时虹膜膨隆形态的二维曲线及三维曲面模型。从实验结果可以看出,随着压强差的不断增大,虹膜逐渐膨隆;在相同的压强差下,相对于没有晶体抬升,有晶体抬升的虹膜膨隆程度更大。     

一种虹膜膨隆形态提取与建模方法的研究

为研究虹膜膨隆形态与瞳孔阻滞的关系,提出了一种根据裂隙图像提取虹膜膨隆形态的方法.通过灰度变换、二值化处理、角度校正及曲线拟合等方法对图像进行处理.建立了不同压强差下无晶体抬升时虹膜膨隆形态二维曲线及三维曲面模型;以及相同压强差下晶体抬升高度不同时虹膜膨隆形态的二维曲线及三维曲面模型.从实验结果可以看出,随着压强差的不断增大,虹膜逐渐膨隆;在相同的压强差下,相对于没有晶体抬升,有晶体抬升的虹膜膨隆程度更大.     

基于整体膨隆实验的虹膜弹性模量求解方法

目的求解虹膜材料的弹性模量。方法采用自行研制的实验装置,对完整的离体兔眼虹膜试件进行0Pa到600Pa的压力加载,获取虹膜加压膨隆的数据,计算虹膜膨隆高度。然后以实测数据为基础,利用ANSYS12.0进行虹膜有限元分析,反推计算虹膜线弹性区间的弹性模量。结果虹膜在载荷为100Pa时的弹性模量为6.1kPa。结论虹膜在前后房压强差较小的情况下可以简化为线弹性材料。     

人眼虹膜组织力学特性的实验研究

利用我们创建的将瞳孔水密缝合后，模拟眼内前后房压强差，对虹膜整体进行加压的实验方法，对人眼虹膜的力学特性进行了实验研究。结果表明：人眼虹膜是典型的粘弹性物质；面积模量与前后房压强差之间基本成线性关系。实验结果可为青光眼致盲机制解释和瞳孔阻滞力的估算提供参考。     

正常兔眼后房压强及前后房压强差值的在体监测

目的 寻求一种眼后房穿刺方法,并在体测量兔眼的前、后房压强差.方法 利用高精度压力传感器与空气差压传感器,采用＂从角巩膜缘外周1～1.5mm处进针穿透巩膜,使针水平滑行于虹膜下而进入后房＂的扎针方法,实现在体连续监测正常兔眼麻醉状态下的后房压强与前后房压强差值.结果 麻醉状态下兔眼后房压强的范围在839.93～2662.48Pa;前、后房压强差范围是46.15～85.52Pa,均值为59.73Pa,变化周期为11.17min.结论 扎针方法测量兔眼后房压强及前后房压强差值对眼球损伤较小,监测到的正常兔眼后房压强及前后房压强差值均在合理可信的范围内.监测方法的可行性为青光眼前后房压强差值的在体监测提供了新的思路.     

兔眼虹膜组织力学特性的实验研究

利用我们创建的将兔眼蝉孔水密缝合后，模拟眼内前后房压强差，对虹膜整体进行加压的实验方法，对兔眼虹膜的力学特性进行了实验研究。结果表明：兔眼虹膜是典型的粘弹性物质；面积模量与前后方压强差之间基本成线性关系。实验结果可为青光眼致盲机制解释和瞳孔阻滞力的估算提供参考。     

虹膜组织力学特性的实验研究

目的 模拟眼内前后房压强差，对人眼和兔眼虹膜整体加压，研究其力学特性。方法将瞳孔水密缝合，不破坏其几何形态，对虹膜整体加压。结果 首次实现了对虹膜整体力学特性的认识，人眼和兔眼虹膜力学特性相似，虹膜是典型的粘弹性物质，面积模量与前后房压强差之间基本呈线性关系，并且在相同的前后房压强差下人眼虹膜的面积模量比兔眼虹模的略小。结论 实验结果可为青光眼致盲机理解释和瞳孔阻滞力的估算提供参考；同时，经适当修正后，兔虹膜可作为人虹膜力学特性的研究样本，大大降低研究成本。     

猪眼虹膜力学特性的实验研究

研究猪眼虹膜的生物力学特性.通过模拟闭角型青光眼发生时眼睛前后房的力学环境,设计了一种实验方法并建立了闭角型青光眼的动物模型,在不破坏虹膜组织的完整性并尽量保持其活性的前提下,对猪眼虹珑膜的力学特性进行测试,得到了猪眼虹膜的面应变与前后房压强差之间的关系,可表示为δ=b0 b1ln△P,它具有黏弹性性质.实验结果还可为解释青光眼致盲机理和临床分析青光眼的病理状况提供理论和实验基础.     

Nonrigid registration with tissue-dependent filtering of the deformation field

In present-day medical practice it is often necessary to nonrigidly align image data. Current registration algorithms do not generally take the characteristics of tissue into account. Consequently, rigid tissue, such as bone, can be deformed elastically, growth of tumours may be concealed, and contrast-enhanced structures may be reduced in volume. We propose a method to locally adapt the deformation field at structures that must be kept rigid, using a tissue-dependent filtering technique. This adaptive filtering of the deformation field results in locally linear transformations without scaling or shearing. The degree of filtering is related to tissue stiffness: more filtering is applied at stiff tissue locations, less at parts of the image containing nonrigid tissue. The tissue-dependent filter is incorporated in a commonly used registration algorithm, using mutual information as a similarity measure and cubic B-splines to model the deformation field. The new registration algorithm is compared with this popular method. Evaluation of the proposed tissue-dependent filtering is performed on 3D computed tomography (CT) data of the thorax and on 2D digital subtraction angiography (DSA) images. The results show that tissue-dependent filtering of the deformation field leads to improved registration results: tumour volumes and vessel widths are preserved rather than affected.     

Modulation of chondrocyte functions and stiffness-dependent cartilage repair using an injectable enzymatically crosslinked hydrogel with tunable mechanical properties

We developed an injectable hydrogel system to evaluate the effect of hydrogel stiffness on chondrocyte cellular functions in a three-dimensional (3D) environment and its subsequent influence on ectopic cartilage formation and early-stage osteochondral defect repair in a rabbit model. The hydrogels, composed of gelatin-hydroxyphenylpropionic acid (Gtn-HPA) conjugate, were formed using oxidative coupling of HPA moieties catalyzed by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The storage modulus (G′) of the hydrogels, which was tunable by changing the H₂O₂ and Gtn-HPA concentrations, ranged from 570 Pa to 2750 Pa. It was found that the cellular functions of chondrocytes encapsulated in hydrogels, including cell proliferation, biosynthesis of collagen and sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAG), as well as gene expression of type I (Col-I) and type II collagen (Col-II), were strongly affected by the stiffness of the hydrogels. Of note, chondrocytes cultured within the Gtn-HPA hydrogel of medium stiffness (G′ = 1000 Pa) produced highest level of sGAG production, as well as highest ratio of Col-II to Col-I gene expression among the Gtn-HPA hydrogels of different stiffness. Consistent with the results from in vitro and in vivo ectopic cartilage formation, osteochondral defect repair in a rabbit model showed stiffness-dependent tissue repair, with defects implanted with chondrocytes in hydrogels of medium stiffness having markedly more hyaline cartilage formation, smoother surface and better integration with adjacent cartilage, compared to defects treated with hydrogels of low or high stiffness. These results suggest that the tunable stiffness of Gtn-HPA hydrogels modulates chondrocyte cellular functions, and has a dramatic impact on cartilage tissue histogenesis and repair.     

Design and Validation of Automated Femoral Bone Morphology Measurements in Cerebral Palsy

Accurate quantification of bone morphology is important for monitoring the progress of bony deformation in patients with cerebral palsy. The purpose of the study was to develop an automatic bone morphology measurement method using one or two radiographs. The study focused on four morphologic measurements—neck-shaft angle, femoral anteversion, shaft bowing angle, and neck length. Fifty-four three-dimensional (3D) geometrical femur models were generated from the computed tomography (CT) of cerebral palsy patients. Principal component analysis was performed on the combined data of geometrical femur models and manual measurements of the four morphologic measurements to generate a statistical femur model. The 3D–2D registration of the statistical femur model for radiography computes four morphological measurements of the femur in the radiographs automatically. The prediction performance was tested here by means of leave-one-out cross-validation and was quantified by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and by measuring the absolute differences between automatic prediction from two radiographs and manual measurements using original CT images. For the neck-shaft angle, femoral anteversion, shaft bowing angle, and neck length, the ICCs were 0.812, 0.960, 0.834, and 0.750, respectively, and the mean absolute differences were 2.52°, 2.85°, 0.92°, and 1.88 mm, respectively. Four important dimensions of the femur could be predicted from two views with very good agreement with manual measurements from CT and hip radiographs. The proposed method can help young patients avoid instances of large radiation exposure from CT, and their femoral deformities can be quantified robustly and effectively from one or two radiograph(s).     

Coronary Artery WSS Profiling Using a Geometry Reconstruction Based on Biplane Angiography

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods based on three-dimensional (3D) vessel reconstructions have recently been shown to provide prognostically relevant hemodynamic data. However, the geometry reconstruction and the assessment of clinically relevant hemodynamic parameters may depend on the used imaging modality. In this study, the silicon model of the left coronary artery (LCA) was acquired with a biplane angiography. The geometry reconstruction was done using commercial CAAS 5.2 QCA 3D software and compared with an original geometry. The original model is an optically digitized post-mortem vessel cast. The biplane angiography reconstruction achieved a Hausdorff surface distance of 0.236 mm to the original geometry that is comparable with results obtained in our earlier study for computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reconstructions. Steady flow simulations were performed with a commercial CFD program FLUENT. A comparison of the calculated wall shear stress (WSS) shows good correlation for histograms (r = 0.97) and good agreement among the four modalities with a mean WSS of 0.65 Pa in the original model, of 0.68 Pa in the CT-based model, of 0.67 Pa in the MRI based model, and of 0.69 Pa in the biplane angiography-based model. We can conclude that the biplane angiography-based reconstructions can be used for the WSS profiling of the coronary arteries.     

Three-Dimensional Registration of Magnetic Resonance Image Data to Histological Sections with Model-Based Evaluation

We developed a three-dimensional (3D) registration method to align medical scanner data with histological sections. After acquiring 3D medical scanner images, we sliced and photographed the tissue using, a custom apparatus, to obtain a volume of tissue section images. Histological samples from the sections were digitized using a video microscopy system. We aligned the histology and medical images to the reference tissue images using our 3D registration method. We applied the method to correlate in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) and histological measurements for radio-frequency thermal ablation lesions in rabbit thighs. For registration evaluation, we used an ellipsoid model to describe the lesion surfaces. The model surface closely fit the inner (M1) and outer (M2) boundaries of the hyperintense region in MR lesion images, and the boundary of necrosis (H1) in registered histology images. We used the distance between the model surfaces to indicate the 3D registration error. For four experiments, we measured a registration accuracy of 0.96± 0.13 mm (mean±SD) from the absolute distance between the M2 and H1 model surfaces, which compares favorably to the 0.70 mm in-plane MR voxel dimension. This suggests that our registration method provides sufficient spatial correspondence to correlate 3D medical scanner and histology data.     

A 3D finite element model of ventral furrow invagination in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo

The paper describes a mechanical model of epithelial tissue development in Drosophila embryos to investigate a buckling phenomenon called invagination. The finite element method is used to model this ventral furrow formation in 3D by decomposing the total deformation into two parts: an imposed active deformation, and an elastic passive deformation superimposed onto the latter. The model imposes as boundary conditions (i) a constant yolk volume and (ii) a sliding contact condition of the cells against the vitelline membrane, which is interpolated as a B-Spline surface. The active deformation simulates the effects of apical constriction and apico-basal elongation of cells. This set of local cellular mechanisms leads to global shape changes of the embryo which are associated with known gene expressions. Using the model we have tested different plausible hypotheses postulated to account for the mechanical behaviour of epithelial tissues. In particular, we conclude that only certain combinations of local cell shape change can successfully reproduce the invagination process. We have quantitatively compared the model with a 2D model and shown that it exhibits a more robust invagination phenomenon. The 3D model has also revealed that invagination causes a yolk flow from the central region to the anterior and posterior ends of the embryo, causing an accordion-like global compression and expansion wave to move through the embryo. Such a phenomenon cannot be described by 2D models.