Landau Madeleine B, Zou Binghao, Yang Ziqi, Rowan Brian G, Anbalagan Muralidharan
Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Bio Protoc. 2025 Feb 20;15(4):e5207. doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.5207.
Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is a powerful, non-destructive imaging technique that creates high-resolution 3D images of the internal structures of small animal models such as mice and rats. Familiarizing oneself with micro-CT imaging and data analysis can be overwhelming without easy-to-follow, clear instructions. Training on new instruments is often a task exclusive to a select subset of researchers, leaving the majority of potential trainees without a technical grasp of how to navigate the instructions. This protocol on the use of micro-CT aims to bridge that gap by providing a clear, step-by-step guide to acquire and analyze micro-CT images from mice for quantitative data. By exclusively detailing the necessary procedural steps from start to finish and overcoming complex user interfaces during imaging operations and analysis, this protocol will equip new micro-CT users with the ability to measure mouse body composition (bone, body fat, and lean muscle mass) and identify and quantify lung fibrosis. This approach applies to researchers with a basic understanding of medical imaging, animal care, and software analysis. Key features • Analysis of tissue-specific body composition using mice as model organisms. • An easy-to-follow guide for novice users of high-resolution micro-computed tomography imaging systems. • Enhances accessibility, workflow, standardization, training, and breadth of application in the research community. • Effectively employing non-invasive live imaging allows for a longitudinal study of tissue architecture for examining age-related changes in vivo. Graphical overview.
微计算机断层扫描（micro-CT）是一种强大的非破坏性成像技术，可创建小鼠和大鼠等小动物模型内部结构的高分辨率三维图像。如果没有易于遵循的清晰说明，熟悉微CT成像和数据分析可能会让人不知所措。新仪器的培训通常是少数特定研究人员的专属任务，这使得大多数潜在学员在技术上无法掌握如何操作这些说明。本关于微CT使用的方案旨在通过提供一个清晰的、逐步的指南来弥合这一差距，该指南用于从小鼠获取和分析微CT图像以获得定量数据。通过详细说明从头到尾的必要程序步骤，并克服成像操作和分析过程中的复杂用户界面，本方案将使新的微CT用户能够测量小鼠身体成分（骨骼、体脂和瘦肌肉质量），并识别和量化肺纤维化。这种方法适用于对医学成像、动物护理和软件分析有基本了解的研究人员。关键特性 • 使用小鼠作为模型生物分析组织特异性身体成分。 • 为高分辨率微计算机断层扫描成像系统的新手用户提供易于遵循的指南。 • 增强了研究社区的可及性、工作流程、标准化、培训和应用广度。 • 有效采用非侵入性活体成像可对组织结构进行纵向研究，以检查体内与年龄相关的变化。图形概述。
