Segmentation of Blood Vessels in a Murine Fracture Callus

Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering & Applied Science, Mentor, Outstanding Presentation, Poster Presentation, Premnath, Priyatha, School and College, Student, Swardenski, Emlyn

Emlyn Swardenski, “Segmentation of Blood Vessels in a Murine Fracture Callus”
Mentor: Priyatha Premnath, Biomedical Engineering
Poster #192

When a bone is fractured, the body works to isolate the damaged area, protect it from further injury, and supply adequate material for repair. The area is referred to as the callus, and its properties differ temporally. The inflammatory phase is characterized by a hematoma that is replaced by a callus made up of cartilage cells that differentiated from stem cells. This cartilaginous callus ossifies over time resulting in regeneration of bone. The formation of new vasculature within the callus is essential to supply cells with the nutrients necessary for effective healing. In this study, microCT scans of a murine tibial fracture were processed via a 3D modeling software, MIMICS. Manual contouring was carried out to isolate vasculature within the bone and callus. Mapping the vasculature in the healing callus will enable us to better understand how the spatial and temporal presence of vasculature affects healing patterns in mice. Understanding of the role vasculature plays in effective fracture healing could help identify possible complications for patients and lead to new strategies increasing effective fracture healing. It could also shed light on the reasoning behind varying healing times for different patients with similar injuries.