Respiratory gated micro-CT

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Micro-computed (micro-CT) tomography has rapidly become an important laboratory tool for studies of human disease in rodent models.  Like computed tomography (CT) scans performed in radiology departments on human subjects, micro-CT scanners use x-ray images acquired at different angles around the subject to produce high-quality, 3D images of the anatomy.  However, micro-CT scanners are highly specialized to provide high-resolution images of the small structures inside rodents, such as the branching airways in the lungs, or the vessels bringing oxygen and nutrients to a tumour. One advantage of using micro-CT imaging technologies is the non-invasive nature of these techniques.  Using 3D x-ray imaging, researchers can see what is happening inside the animal.  Disease progression or how the animal is responding to treatment can be monitored by performing micro-CT scans at specified timepoints and analysing  the images to diagnose the disease, monitor its spread or determine how well the treatment is performing. One area of research that I am pursuing is micro-CT imaging in rodent models of respiratory disease.   By monitoring the respiration of the animal throughout the imaging session, we can retrospectively sort the x-ray images based on how much air was contained in the lungs in the image.  We can then produce a series of 3D images depicting the complete respiratory cycle.  Using these images, accurate measurements of the anatomical features can be performed (such as airway diameter, or lung volume).  In addition, functional information (such as tidal volume, or air content at each phase of the respiratory cycle) can also be obtained from the 3D images.  In rodent models of respiratory illness, these anatomical and functional measurements will be different than those measurements obtained in a similar cohort of healthy animals.