Evaluating cellularity and structural connectivity on whole brain slides using a custom-made digital pathology...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Pathology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Histopathological examination of whole-brain slides is crucial for understanding spatial disease characteristics in brain research.
• Visualizing tumor heterogeneity, infiltration patterns, and brain parenchyma relationships is vital in brain tumor research.
• Correlating radiological imaging with post-mortem brain specimens is of significant interest.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an adaptable and cost-efficient wide-field slide scanner for analyzing large-format whole-brain slides.
• To construct cellularity heatmaps and fiber tract maps for detailed histopathological analysis.
• To enable precise correlation between radiological imaging and post-mortem brain histology.

Main Methods:

• Development of a custom wide-field slide scanner with a microscope, remotely controllable x-y-stage, camera, and workstation.
• Automatic scanning of large-format whole-brain slides from three patients.
• Application of a custom image processing pipeline to generate cellularity heatmaps and fiber tract maps.

Main Results:

• Cellularity heatmaps successfully distinguished compact tumor tissue from white and grey matter.
• The histopathological analysis revealed a larger tumor infiltration zone compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
• Observed displacement of pre-existing fiber tracts by tumor bulk and highlighted differences in tumor growth patterns between radiological subtypes.

Conclusions:

• The developed slide scanning solution is adaptable and cost-efficient compared to commercial alternatives.
• The study provides instructions for constructing a custom slide scanner, evaluating cell density, and performing fiber tracking.
• Demonstrated potential clinical applications by mapping whole-brain histology to MRI, enhancing diagnostic capabilities.