X-Ray Based 3D Histology of Soft Biological Tissues Using Cryogenic Contrast-Enhanced MicroCT by Arne Maes

“Form follows function” reflects an established principle in biology, which states that the structure of biological tissues and organs is closely linked to their in vivo functioning. Therefore, histology, or the structural study of biological tissues at the microscale, is crucial to fully understand tissue functioning, and to assess the implications of pathologies on its microstructure and the outcome of treatments. The current golden standard comprises classical 2D histology, in which the tissue is embedded, sectioned, and then microscopically assessed. This technique, however, is inherently limited by its 2D field-of-view, providing only a partial visualization of the intricate 3D microstructure of tissues.  In this regard, X-ray based 3D histology, employing microCT imaging, provides crucial complementary information on the microstructure of tissues. This dissertation introduces a novel approach to X-ray based 3D histology, in which sample staining with a contrast-enhancing staining agent (CESA) is combined with subsequent sample freezing, for an improved visualization of the tissue microstructure. This novel technique was coined cryogenic contrast-enhanced microCT, or cryo-CECT in short. This dissertation demonstrates the broad histopathological and clinical application potential of cryo-CECT by visualizing in 3D the microstructure of various tissues and organs in a nondestructive manner, including skeletal muscle, myocardium, bone-tendon interface, kidney and rectus fascia.

Jury members:

• Prof. Greet Kerckhofs (UCLouvain), supervior
• Prof. Martine Wevers (KULeuven), supervisor
• Prof. Adhemar Bultheel (KULeuven), chairperson
• Prof. Philippe Debeer (KULeuven)
• Prof. Catherine Behets (UCLouvain)
• Prof. Himadri Gupta (KULeuven)
• Prof. Marc Miserez (KULeuven)
• Prof. Thomas Pardoen (UCLouvain)

Visio conference link : streaming-video-live (kuleuven.be)