Non-invasive assessment of allometric scaling laws in the human coronary tree

Damian Craiem; Mariano E. Casciaro; Sebastian Graf; Enrique P. Gurfinkel; Ricardo L. Armentano

doi:10.1016/j.artres.2010.09.002

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Volume 5, Issue 1, March 2011, Pages 15 - 23

Non-invasive assessment of allometric scaling laws in the human coronary tree

Authors

Damian Craiem^a^{, b}^{, *}, Mariano E. Casciaro^a, Sebastian Graf^a^{, b}, Enrique P. Gurfinkel^b^{, c}, Ricardo L. Armentano^a

^aFavaloro University. FICEN. Av Belgrano 1723, C.P. C1093AAS, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

^bCONICET, Argentina

^cMSCT Unit of the Favaloro Foundation, Argentina

^*Corresponding author. Av Belgrano 1723, C.P. C1093AAS, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tel.: +54 11 4378 1132; fax: +54 11 4384 0782. E-mail address: damian@craiem.com.ar (D. Craiem).

Corresponding Author

Damian Craiem

Received 6 August 2010, Revised 24 September 2010, Accepted 24 September 2010, Available Online 14 October 2010.

DOI: 10.1016/j.artres.2010.09.002 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Allometry; Multisclice computed tomography; Coronary artery disease; Skeletonization; Coronary morphometry
Abstract: Assessing the geometry of the coronary arteries in a patient can help to better explain coronary artery disease (CAD) development. Allometric scaling functions were successfully applied to describe how essential materials are transported through recursive networks, also observed in the coronary tree. In this work we used skeletonization methods on multislice computed tomography (MSCT) images to render the coronary tree in 3D. Fifty subjects were recruited in two groups: 1) free from plaques and 2) with focal lesions. The left coronary tree was segmented using a custom algorithm with minimum user intervention. Vessels were separated using a stem-crown architecture. Cumulative arterial length (L) with volume (V) and vessel stem diameter (D_STEM) with distal L functions were analysed. In the allometric functions L = k_v V^β and D_STEM = k_L L^γ, no significant differences were found between groups. The scaling exponent range for β was 0.6–0.9 and for γ was 0.1–0.4. Values were not different from other studies in pigs. In a Log–Log scatter plot in all patients, lines were parallel, confirmed with an ANCOVA. In other words, the allometric function stood for all patients. The idea that parameters from diseased hearts are expected to deviate from normal was not revealed in this study. We believe that CAD did not disturb the allometric relations due to the focal nature of the lesions and the absence of diffuse CAD. Further combination of MSCT with 3D morphological extraction algorithms can help to overcome the qualitative analysis of a patient vasculature and advance into new clinical quantitative perspectives.
Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

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Journal: Artery Research
Volume-Issue: 5 - 1
Pages: 15 - 23
Publication Date: 2010/10/14
ISSN (Online): 1876-4401
ISSN (Print): 1872-9312
DOI: 10.1016/j.artres.2010.09.002 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

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ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Damian Craiem
AU  - Mariano E. Casciaro
AU  - Sebastian Graf
AU  - Enrique P. Gurfinkel
AU  - Ricardo L. Armentano
PY  - 2010
DA  - 2010/10/14
TI  - Non-invasive assessment of allometric scaling laws in the human coronary tree
JO  - Artery Research
SP  - 15
EP  - 23
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
SN  - 1876-4401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2010.09.002
DO  - 10.1016/j.artres.2010.09.002
ID  - Craiem2010
ER  -

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