10/09/2025
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✅ 📃Revealing the complexity of meniscus microvasculature through 3D visualization and analysis
◼️ Background and Motivation
💠 The meniscus is crucial for knee joint health and functionality, and its vascular supply is key to its healing potential.
💠 Tears in vascularized areas (Red-Red zones) can promote tissue healing due to the supply of oxygen and nutrients, while damage in avascular areas (White-White zones) often fails to repair.
💠 Historically, the study of meniscal vascularity has relied primarily on two-dimensional (2D) imaging techniques, making a comprehensive 3D understanding essential.
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◼️Methodology
🔹 The study aimed to investigate the feasibility of mapping and visualizing the microvasculature within the human meniscus using advanced 3D imaging techniques, as well as analyzing the network's regional characteristics via quantitative parameters.
▪️ Sample Preparation
🧪 Samples consisted of six menisci from three Thiel-fixated human cadaver legs (male donors, mean age 75).
▪️ Contrast Agent Injection
💉 A polymerizing contrast agent, μAngiofil, was injected through the cannulated femoral artery.
💧 Prior to contrast injection, a low-viscosity silicone oil with blue dye was perfused to flush out postmortem clots and restore flow.
▪️ Micro-CT Imaging
📸 Micro-CT analysis was performed at three gradually increasing spatial resolutions:
Group A (low resolution, 60 μm voxel size)
Group B (medium resolution, 30 μm voxel size)
Group C (high resolution, 15 μm voxel size)
▪️ 3D Quantitative Analysis
🧮 The vascular network was segmented using a combination of the Max Entropy algorithm and the white top-hat operation to capture both large vessels and finer details.
📊 Quantitative parameters, including diameter, length, tortuosity, and branching patterns, were assessed in a zone-based analysis.
🩻 The menisci were divided into four radial portions (anterior, mid-anterior, mid-posterior, and posterior) and four circumferential zones (perimeniscal (PM), zone 1 (RR), zone 2 (RW), and zone 3 (WW)).
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◼️ Key Findings
▪️ Vascular Distribution (Circumferential Zones)
🩸 The outer perimeniscal zone exhibited the highest vascular volume contribution, containing more than 72% of the blood vessels in both the lateral and medial menisci.
🩸 When excluding the perimeniscal area, zone 1 (RR) displayed the highest vascular volume.
🩸 The contribution of zone 3 (WW, the innermost third) to the overall meniscal vasculature was less than 5% in the lateral meniscus and less than 2.5% in the medial meniscus.
▪️ Vascular Distribution (Radial Zones)
🧠 In the lateral meniscus, the majority of vessels (68%) were found in the mid-anterior and posterior zones.
🧠 In the medial meniscus, the anterior, mid-anterior, and posterior regions contained over 80% of the total vessel volume.
🧠 In both menisci, the mid-posterior portion showed the lowest contribution to the overall vasculature.
▪️ Vascular Parameters
📈 Variations in vascular parameters were found between the different circumferential and radial meniscal zones.
📈 The vascular segments of the perimeniscal zone had a significantly different diameter compared to the other circumferential zones in both menisci.
📈 The vascular network showed a zone-dependent structure and organization in the radial portions.
▪️ Resolution Importance
🔍 The study emphasized the importance of spatial resolution.
🔍 Analysis performed at higher resolutions (Groups B and C) allowed for the identification of a greater number of vascular segments and nodes compared to the low-resolution scan (Group A).
🔍 Higher resolution analysis also enabled the detection of smaller vessels, resulting in a lower average diameter value in Groups B and C.
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◼️ Significance
🌐 The main strength of this work is the 3D non-destructive visualization and quantification of blood vessels, which is an improvement over older, destructive methods like serial sectioning and vascular corrosion casting.
🩺 The ability to perform a detailed study of vascular morphology and topology could be a valuable method to evaluate the arteriogenic and angiogenic response to meniscal repair surgery.
💡 The findings, both from this study and future research using this technique, are expected to improve the understanding of microvascular distribution, potentially leading to improved therapeutic strategies.
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⚠️Disclaimer: Sharing a study or a part of it is NOT an endorsement. Please read the original article and evaluate critically.⚠️
Link to Article 👇
