Multimodal whole slide image processing pipeline for quantitative mapping of tissue architecture and tissue...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Imaging
• Computational Pathology
• Immunohistochemistry

Background:

• Quantitative high-content spatial profiling requires advanced imaging techniques.
• Understanding tissue architecture and immune cell function is critical for disease research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an integrated image processing pipeline for comprehensive tissue analysis.
• To enable quantitative spatial analysis of molecular markers in disease contexts.

Main Methods:

• Integration of quantitative phase microscopy, hyper-plex fluorescence imaging, and whole-slide histopathology.
• Development of an open-source, compatible image processing pipeline.
• Application to ulcerative colitis patient biopsies for mucosal healing analysis.

Main Results:

• Detailed morphological mapping of tissue architecture and cell morphology.
• Linking tissue morphology to the functional states of individual cells across entire slides.
• Demonstrated potential for quantitative spatial analysis of mucosal healing markers.

Conclusions:

• The integrated pipeline offers comprehensive analysis of tissue biopsies.
• It facilitates quantitative spatial analysis of molecular markers in disease.
• The open-source tool supports research and clinical applications in spatial biology.