Study On The Morphology Of Microvessels By Synchrotron Radiation

Microvessels are significant both in the diagnoses and treatments in brain disease and tumor. However, conventional medical image can only detect blood vessels lager than 200 microns in diameter, rather than microvessels with the diameter in tens of microns. Synchrotron radiation (SR) phase contrast imaging, whose spatial resolution can reach 1μm, has great advantages in imaging soft tissue structure, such as blood vessels and tumors.In this study, normal blood vessels in the mouse brain and other normal tissues were studied by synchrotron radiation at Shanghai Synchrotron Facility (SSRF). Two different contrast agents (Iodine and Barium Sulfate) were used. Real-time in vivo observation of the cerebral vessels under normal physiological condition using Iodine as contrast agent was achieved. The normal vessels in the mouse brain, liver, kidney and spleen using BaSO4 as contrast agent were investigated both ex-vivo and in-vitro. The imaging results showed that the vessels with the diameter of less than 50 microns were able to be detected by synchrotron radiation and contrast agents played an important role in the synchrotron radiation imaging.Preliminary study on the morphology of tumor angiogenesis was also executed by establishing 4T1 tumor animal models with or without contrast agents. The imaging results showed that the tumor vessels with the diameter of less than 30 micron were able to be observed by synchrotron radiation without contrast agents in windows model.The above results showed the feasibility of observation of microvessels in mouse brain and tumor. Further study on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases and tumor by establishing animal models will be investigated.