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POLARIZED SPATIAL FREQUENCY DOMAIN IMAGING OF HEART VALVE FIBER STRUCTURE.

ABSTRACT: Our group previously introduced Polarized Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (PSFDI), a wide-field, reflectance imaging technique which we used to empirically map fiber direction in porcine pulmonary heart valve leaflets (PHVL) without optical clearing or physical sectioning of the sample. Presented is an extended analysis of our PSFDI results using an inverse Mueller matrix model of polarized light scattering that allows additional maps of fiber orientation distribution, along with instrumentation permitting increased imaging speed for dynamic PHVL fiber measurements. We imaged electrospun fiber phantoms with PSFDI, and then compared these measurements to SEM data collected for the same phantoms. PHVL was then imaged and compared to results of the same leaflets optically cleared and imaged with small angle light scattering (SALS). The static PHVL images showed distinct regional variance of fiber orientation distribution, matching our SALS results. We used our improved imaging speed to observe bovine tendon subjected to dynamic loading using a biaxial stretching device. Our dynamic imaging experiment showed trackable changes in the fiber microstructure of biological tissue under loading. Our new PSFDI analysis model and instrumentation allows characterization of fiber structure within heart valve tissues (as validated with SALS measurements), along with imaging of dynamic fiber remodeling. The experimental data will be used as inputs to our constitutive models of PHVL tissue to fully characterize these tissues' elastic behavior, and has immediate application in determining the mechanisms of structural and functional failure in PHVLs used as bio-prosthetic implants.

SUBMITTER: Goth W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5537380 | biostudies-other | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Collagen fiber networks provide the structural strength of tissues, such as tendons, skin and arteries. Quantifying the fiber architecture in response to mechanical loads is essential towards a better understanding of the tissue-level mechanical behaviors, especially in assessing disease-driven functional changes. To enable novel investigations into these load-dependent fiber structures, a polarized spatial frequency domain imaging (pSFDI) device was developed and, for the first time, integrated with a biaxial mechanical testing system. The integrated instrument is capable of a wide-field quantification of the fiber orientation and the degree of optical anisotropy (DOA), representing the local degree of fiber alignment. The opto-mechanical instrument''s performance was assessed through uniaxial loading on tendon tissues with known collagen fiber microstructures. Our results revealed that the bulk fiber orientation angle of the tendon tissue changed minimally with loading (median ± 0.5*IQR of 52.7° ± 3.3° and 51.9° ± 3.3° under 0 and 3% longitudinal strains, respectively), whereas on a micro-scale, the fibers became better aligned with the direction of loading: the DOA (mean ± SD) increased from 0.149 ± 0.032 to 0.198 ± 0.056 under 0 and 3% longitudinal strains, respectively, p < 0.001. The integrated instrument was further applied to study two representative mitral valve anterior leaflet (MVAL) tissues subjected to various biaxial loads. The fiber orientations within these representative MVAL tissue specimens demonstrated noticeable heterogeneity, with the local fiber orientations dependent upon the sample, the spatial and transmural locations, and the applied loading. Our results also showed that fibers were generally better aligned under equibiaxial (DOA = 0.089 ± 0.036) and circumferentially-dominant loading (DOA = 0.086 ± 0.037) than under the radially-dominant loading (DOA = 0.077 ± 0.034), indicating circumferential predisposition. These novel findings exemplify a deeper understanding of the load-dependent collagen fiber microstructures obtained through the use of the integrated opto-mechanical instrument. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In this study, a novel quantitative opto-mechanical system was developed by combining a polarized Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (pSFDI) device with a biaxial mechanical tester. The integrated system was used to quantify the load-dependent collagen fiber microstructures in representative tendon and mitral valve anterior leaflet (MVAL) tissues. Our results revealed that MVAL's fiber architectures exhibited load-dependent spatial and transmural heterogeneities, suggesting further microstructural complexity than previously reported in heart valve tissues. These novel findings were possible through the system's ability to, for the first time, capture the load-dependent collagen architecture in the mitral valve anterior leaflet tissue over a wide field of view (e.g., 10 × 10 mm for the MVAL tissue specimens). Such capabilities afford unique future opportunities to improve patient outcomes through concurrent mechanical and microstructural assessments of healthy and diseased tissues in conditions such as heart valve regurgitation and calcification.

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POLARIZED SPATIAL FREQUENCY DOMAIN IMAGING OF HEART VALVE FIBER STRUCTURE.

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