MDCT-based quantification of porcine pulmonary arterial morphometry and self-similarity of arterial branching geometry.

The pig is frequently used as an experimental model for studies of the pulmonary circulation, yet the branching and dimensional geometry of the porcine pulmonary vasculature remains poorly defined. The purposes of this study are to improve the geometric definition of the porcine pulmonary arteries and to determine whether the arterial tree exhibits self-similarity in its branching geometry. Five animals were imaged using thin slice spiral computed tomography in the prone posture during airway inflation pressure at 25 cmH2O.

An in-vivo computed tomography approach for quantifying porcine pulmonary arterial morphometry.

The objective of this study was to develop an in vivo CT imaging-based approach for pulmonary arterial morphometry measurement, and to improve the geometrical basis for studies of the porcine vasculature. The luminal diameter and distance from the inlet of left and right pulmonary arteries, and pulmonary arteries within the lungs of two porcine subjects were measured at inflation pressure of 25 cmH(2)O. The results suggest that the porcine pulmonary arteries have geometric self-similarity, and that this approach will have utility for systematically quantifying pulmonary arterial vessel dimensions in vivo in a larger group of animals.