Contrast enhanced vessel imaging using microCT

Microscopic computed tomography (microCT) offers high-resolution volumetric imaging of the anatomy of living small animals. However, the contrast between different soft tissues and body fluids is inherently poor in micro-CT images (1). Under these circumstances, visualization of blood vessels becomes a nearly impossible task. To overcome this and to improve the visualization of blood vessels exogenous contrast agents can be used. Herein, we present a methodology for visualizing the vascular network in a rodent model. By using a long-acting aqueous colloidal polydisperse iodinated blood-pool contrast agent, eXIA 160XL, we optimized image acquisition parameters and volume-rendering techniques for finding blood vessels in live animals. Our findings suggest that, to achieve a superior contrast between bone and soft tissue from vessel, multiple-frames (at least 5-8/ frames per view), and 360-720 views (for a full 360° rotation) acquisitions were mandatory. We have also demonstrated the use of a two-dimensional transfer function (where voxel color and opacity was assigned in proportion to CT value and gradient magnitude), in visualizing the anatomy and highlighting the structure of interest, the blood vessel network. This promising work lays a foundation for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of anti-angiogenesis preclinical studies using transgenic or xenograft tumor-bearing mice.