Ventricle Segmentation and Computational Modeling of Interstitial Flow

Christopher Najjoum

Authors:  Christopher Najjoum

Faculty Mentor:  Malisa Sarntinoranont

College:  Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering

Abstract

Brain parenchyma does not possess lymphatic vessels, however, the brain is one of the most metabolically active organs in the human body. Instead of a lymphatic vessel network, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) is involved in transporting molecules throughout the brain. In the fields of Alzheimer’s disease and sleep, studies show interest in small interstitial fluid spaces around blood vessels called perivascular space (PVS) that contributes to waste clearance and drug delivery. The goal of this research was to visualize the PVS flow patterns through large interstitial fluid spaces that are connected to the PVS called ventricles. Previous work observed the PVS through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by injecting tracer into the ventricles of five different rat brains. Using the MRIs that were taken from earlier research, the goal was accomplished by segmenting/removing the ventricles from the PVS to create anatomical maps which were input into computational fluid dynamics models to predict physiological flow patterns.

Poster Pitch

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Poster

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8 Responses
  1. Julia Withrow

    Hi Christopher- cool project! How did you create your segmentation? I have a similar project so just wondered software you’ve encountered along the way and what has worked best for your specific project!

    1. Chris Najjoum

      Hi Julia,

      The segmentation program I used was ITK-Snap. It is a free biomedical segmentation program that creates an active contouring threshold in three dimensions. It is the fastest and most accurate software I have used thus far. The automatic segmentation tool in ITK-Snap was the snake tool. Hope this helps!

  2. Dominika Burbul

    Hello Chris!
    Great job! Did you work with any rats or was this only your lab members? Do you plan to continue research/ this project after your graduate?

    1. Chris Najjoum

      Hi Dominika,

      I did not work with the rats during my research. I was only involved with the MRIs. As of right now I plan on continuing my research throughout my graduate year starting in Fall 2020.

  3. Anna Walls

    Hey Chris! I really liked how your project blends scientific research and engineering! Where does the CSF flow to after it leaves the perivascular space?

    1. Chris Najjoum

      Hi Anna,

      The CSF that flows out from the PVS is reabsorbed into the blood stream from the arachnoid villi.