Embedded

The story

We aim to highlight the vast possibilities that lie hidden in paraffin-embedded biobank tissue samples, through the utilization of new imaging modalities and computer-assisted reconstructions. In this image, we have integrated four types of histological analysis of the same tissue sample – from traditional to cutting-edge – into a single image.

Research area

Focus lies on vascular remodelling in the pulmonary and foetal circulation and the role of the extracellular matrix in pulmonary vascular disease.

Impact

This work gives an overview of how multi-disciplinary collaboration improves our understanding of pathology in clinical scenarios. To create this piece, we involved radiation physicists, cardiac surgeons, pathologists and biomedical researchers. The possibilities with this methodology, with infrastructures that are unique to Lund, are endless and applicable to many fields.

Image description

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) of an infant with transposition of the great arteries that underwent surgery at six days of age. The bottom left image depicts a 3D-segmentation, constructed from synchrotron-based phase-contrast images, of the paraffin-embedded vessel. Pooling of glycosaminoglycans is seen in the top right image and a gradient of versican (yellow) accumulation and its proteolytic neoepitope (red) in vascular smooth muscle cells (green) is observed in the top left image. The bottom right image shows structure tensor analysis – a method to determine orientation of structures in volumetric data.

Credits

Dr. Niccoló Peruzzi, postdoc in the Tran-Lundmark group, for the aid with advanced reconstruction and image analysis.