Data acquisition for modeling and visualization of vascular tree

• Main Author: Mondy, William Lafayette
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholar Commons 2009
• Subjects: Bio-mimicking; Bio-CAD; Micro-CT; Vascular scaffold; Capillary bed; American Studies; Arts and Humanities
• Online Access: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/2111; http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3110&context=etd

Data can be acquired from tissue's vascular structure and used for modeling and visualization. To acquire data from a vascular tree, we make its structure available for the gathering of data by separating it from the structures of surrounding tissues, which includes the capillary structure. The capillary structure contains important information, but, because of its size, is the most difficult to acquire data from. In this work, we look at methods for contrasting the vascular structure from surrounding tissues, and focus on the use of corrosion casting for this procedure. We collected image data using micro-computer tomography (micro-CT) and converted data into stereolithography models. Models were imported into computer aided design (CAD) software, which was used to further process the models in order to ensure that the necessary structures were in place for the recreation of the capillary structures' relationship to targeted cell systems. Recreating the cell system-capillary system relationship is the reason building this model is so important. It is this relationship that we seek to model so that, in the future, we can create designs that guide the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolding, which mimic capillary patterns with supportive structure that serve as an extracellular matrix for 3D tissue engineering. This method had been designed to enhance a variety of therapeutic protocols including, but not limited to, organ and tissue repair, systemic disease mediation and cell/tissue transplantation therapy.