A semi-automated micro-method for the histological assessment of fat embolism.

A method of quantitatively determining the volume of fat emboli in a tissue using an image analysis system (I.B.A.S.) was developed. This procedure is an interactive, semi-automated tool allowing the quick and accurate gathering of large quantities of data from sections of different tissue samples stained by osmium tetroxide. The development of this procedure was aimed at producing a system which is reliable, reproducible and semi-automated thereby enabling epidemiological and serial studies to be made of a large number of histological sections from different tissues. The system was tested in a study of tissue sections from a series of fatalities from an aircraft crash in an attempt at correlating the incidence of fat emboli with the presence of multiple fractures and soft tissue injuries, the correlation to be made being between the quantitative presence of fat emboli and the extent and severity of injuries suffered.