Micrometer-resolution reconstruction and analysis of whole mouse brain vasculature by synchrotron-based phase-contrast tomographic microscopy

AbstractNervous tissue metabolism is mainly supported by the dense thread of blood vessels which mainly provides fast supplies of oxygen and glucose. Recently, the supplying role of the brain vascular system has been examined in major neurological conditions such as the Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. However, to date, fast and reliable methods for the fine level microstructural extraction of whole brain vascular systems are still unavailable. We present a methodological framework suitable for reconstruction of the whole mouse brain cerebral microvasculature by X-ray tomography with the unprecedented pixel size of 0.65 μm. Our measurements suggest that the resolving power of the techn…